ALERT, ALERT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. USC ADDED EARLY ACTION. This is nuts, considering they’re one of the most popular colleges with our clients and they previously did not offer anything other than regular decision. And adding EA rather than ED is verrrrrry interesting.
If you want the tl;dr: USC added early action and if you are planning to apply to USC it probably makes sense to go early action. Read on for more context, history, and ~analysis~.
Let’s take a minute and explain USC’s history with demonstrated interest. Applying early is one of the key ways you can express demonstrated interest in a school, and USC has famously said they do not track demonstrated interest. Demonstrated interest is a metric schools can use during admissions, and it basically means did you show them in any way that you actually want to go there. This could be through signing up for emails, going for a physical or virtual tour, emailing the admissions counselor, or even following them on social media. But the biggest way you can demonstrate your interest is by applying early, especially early decision.
However, USC isn’t offering early decision, only early action. Early action is kind of like ED, in that you’re applying early and before the RD deadline, but it’s not “binding” like ED is. In the Common App, here’s how USC describes their EA policy:
Early Action
Applicants selecting Early Action will be notified of their admission or deferral to Regular Decision in mid- to late January 2023.
Application Deadline: November 1, 2022
Early Action (EA) is non-binding, non-restrictive, and is not available for majors requiring a portfolio or audition. EA applicants will be considered for USC Merit Scholarships.
Students applying to majors requiring a portfolio or audition (see below) will be considered for USC Merit Scholarships as part of their Regular Decision process
Let’s break this down. It’s non-binding and non-restrictive, meaning you’re free to ED somewhere else while applying EA to USC, plus you can apply EA or ED to other private colleges. Restrictive Early Action (REA) means you can’t apply early to another private college if you’re applying REA to a private college, or another public college if you’re applying early to another public college. We don’t fully get the logic of that, but whatever. And it’s not an issue here.
They’re also saying the presumed acceptance rate with EA with their CHEST!! Some schools almost entirely fill out their classes with early applicants, so only selecting 20-25% of the class from EA is not huge in terms of early acceptance. The main perk here is getting a response earlier than if you applied RD.
Look, applying EA is truly a win-win scenario. It shows the school a heightened interest, it’s not scary and binding like ED, and the only drawback is having to be done with your application up to 2 months earlier, which is not really a real drawback unless you’re a procrastinator.
Our advice? If USC is on your list and it’s not a safety, apply EA. Go nuts, friends.
If you’re applying to USC (especially EA) and want some help, reach out to us today.