USC has a lot going for it: sunny California weather coupled with amazing programs in business, film and engineering. The University of Southern California, usually just called USC, is a private research university in Los Angeles, CA. USC is also home to the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
While USC doesn’t release a separate acceptance rate from Viterbi, it is anecdotally lower than their overall rate. This makes sense. Engineering is a popular major and engineering students are among the most competitive applicants generally. On top of this, USC is always competitive to get into. Last year, their acceptance rate was just around 9.8%. No matter what you hope to study, you need to be a competitive candidate to get into USC and if you hope to get into Viterbi you need to be a top applicant. But how? We are glad you asked. Let’s break it down.
Get the Grades
USC is looking for applicants with competitive grades. Last year, over 30% of applicants submitted a 4.0 unweighted GPA and the average submitted GPA was 3.86. You need to shoot for perfect or nearly perfect grades to be a serious Viterbi candidate. However, it goes even further than that. Last year, over 65% of their incoming class came from the top tenth of the high school class. This means not only getting impressive grades, but also building a stand out transcript. Your transcript should be packed with Honors, IB, AP, Accelerated, and/or Dual Enrollment courses. The bare minimum, for engineers, is taking the highest levels of math and science available to you. If you really want to impress USC, you should go beyond and take as many hard classes as you can while still maintaining a competitive GPA.
While USC is currently test-optional, for engineering you will want to send impressive scores if at all possible. Having great standardized test scores will help you stand out. Last year, only 46% of applicants sent scores. Of the students that submitted, the 50th percentile was either a 1490 on the SAT or a 33 on the ACT. Ideally, you want to submit similar or better scores, especially as an engineering candidate.
Build a Niche
Viterbi offers 11 majors. There is a big difference between being an aerospace engineering major and a biomedical engineering major. It needs to be clear from your application which engineering field you are eyeing. The best way to do this is to craft a history of exploration and involvement in your academic interests. We call this building an academic niche; the more defined your niche, the stronger your application. We have a couple of initial steps you need to take to establish a great niche.
Courses and Reading
To start building your niche, the easiest first step is to learn as much as you can about your academic interests. We highly recommend making yourself a reading list. Not to sound like a boomer, but many young people don’t read books outside of class. You can set yourself apart as an engineering student by being well-read. Reading books about your intended field will make you so much better at talking and eventually writing about your interests. You can supplement your reading list with podcasts, scientific journals, tech blogs, etc., but books should 100% be part of your exploration.
We also recommend taking some classes related to your academic niche outside of your normal school day. Many universities offer pre-taped (often free) courses through third parties like Coursera. These are great, but you can also look for university summer programs (in-person or online) or local community college courses. The important thing is to show you are pursuing academic interests.
in-School Extracurriculars
You should strategically get involved with clubs at your school. This means you should seek out clubs that help build on your academic niche. Popular clubs for hopeful engineers include robotics teams, Science Olympiads, mathletes, STEM tutoring clubs, solar car teams, computer science societies, etc. The more connected the clubs are to your academic interests, the better. If your school doesn’t have the right STEM-based clubs for you, ask your administration about starting your own.
Just signing up for clubs is not enough. Viterbi will not be impressed with a one-hour-a-week commitment. You need to take on responsibilities and leadership roles in your clubs. Be ready to commit to the activities you care about!
Out of School Extracurriculars
You have to be involved in out-of-school extracurriculars year-round (we actually prefer you do); however, your summers are specifically important when it comes to getting involved in impressive activities. We routinely help even freshmen strategize for impactful summers. Summers can take many shapes, but most USC-level candidates will have a mix of academic programs, internships, and research on their resume.
Your summers should build on and solidify your academic niche. Finding the right opportunities can be tricky. If you need help planning your summers, we have you covered! Contact us today!
Build Something Cool
From soldering to computer programming, you can show off your engineering skills by building something impressive. Engineering takes real-world skills, and USC wants to see you use them. Even better, push yourself to learn some new skills to pull off your project. You can really build anything that speaks to you and connects to your niche. It’s hard to give specific advice about capstone projects, so you’ll have to contact us if you want help solidifying your niche, but we have helped students who have built drones, computers, solar power systems, and much more. We also routinely secure research positions for kids that lead to them getting published in prestigious papers or journals.
Apply Early
USC doesn’t have traditional Early Decision for Viterbi, but they allow students to apply Early Action. While they don’t release their EA acceptance rate, applying early will not only let you know their decisions months earlier, but it also shows that you are serious about the school. There really isn’t a downside (as long as the rest of your plans allow for it.) Every strategic application plan includes ED and/or EA schools. Trust us!
It is hard to get into Viterbi. But if you follow these steps, you can set yourself up for your best chance at success.
If you are unsure where to start, we can help with all things college. Contact us today!