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3 USC Essay Examples By Accepted Students

The University of Southern California is a selective private school in Los Angeles. Its film school is consistently ranked the top in the country, though its other academic programs are incredibly strong as well.

USC requires applicants to fill out a variety of prompts, some in the form of essays and others as short-answer questions. In this post, we’ll go over three essays that helped real students gain acceptance to USC and explain what each essay did well and where it could be improved. 

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Read our USC essay breakdown to get a comprehensive overview of this year’s supplemental prompts. 

(Also, CollegeVine has a ton of other resources for your USC application. Want to learn what USC will actually cost you based on your income? And how long your application to the school should take? Here’s what every student considering USC needs to know. ) 

Essay Example #1 – 10 Minutes to Change the World

At what point does injustice become background noise?

Bloodied black bodies can be “liked” on Instagram. Gunshots in classrooms are easily reposted via Tiktok. My generation’s digital environment is so overwhelming we’re desensitized. Given the numbing nature of dark humor, youth prefer it over justice. Rape culture is palatable once it’s a punchline. Laughter is more socially acceptable than tears. 

A recent documentary about Jeffery Dahmer (which his victim’s family members did not consent to) has led to several callous jokes about his horrifying devastation of the Black gay community. Tiktok now hosts several trends concerning Dahmer, all spearheaded by Generation Z youth.

Humor is a valid coping mechanism, but it’s now a crutch for a generation that needs to start walking on its own. 

Why is shock humor desired today? Dark humor was how I grappled with my internalized racism, partly triggered by enduring racial slurs at school. However, the hilarity fizzled out once I realized how counterproductive it was. Now, rather than reposting footage of global tragedies or joking about them, I promote new bills, pro-cause literature, and nonprofits, celebrating the proactivity of our nation.

To begin my conversation, I would address my own desensitization, urging my audience to examine theirs as well. Through my talk, I want individuals to undergo a transformative examination of social media consumption and the role of humor in the face of tragedy. Hopefully, my talk leads them to consider how they can work to alleviate social issues, rather than laughing at them.

What the Essay Did Well

This prompt is incredibly open, which can be both a blessing and a curse: you can write about anything you want, but with that much freedom, will you be able to focus on something specific? For this student, the answer to that question is unquestionably yes, as they do a phenomenal job writing about a creative, nuanced topic, in a way that is clear and easy to understand.

The topic they choose is also personal, which is important. The purpose of any college essay is to teach your readers something about who you are, and if you write about a topic that you know a lot about, but aren’t emotionally invested in (like, say, the different kinds of screwdrivers you learned about while helping your dad with a summer project), your personality won’t shine through.

This student, however, focuses not on racism in general, which is far too broad a topic for an essay this short, but on the problematic ways Gen Z copes with racism. That unique perspective shows that the student both has strong critical thinking skills and can reflect on their own experiences. And to take things a step further, they are also willing to get vulnerable, and acknowledge their own role in perpetuating the very issue they are highlighting, with the section:

“Dark humor was how I grappled with my internalized racism, partly triggered by enduring racial slurs at school. However, the hilarity fizzled out once I realized how counterproductive it was. Now, rather than reposting footage of global tragedies or joking about them, I promote new bills, pro-cause literature, and nonprofits, celebrating the proactivity of our nation.”

In this part of the essay, the student shows a remarkable level of humility, and an ability to work on themselves. While getting vulnerable with a bunch of strangers thousands of miles away is not easy, this especially deep self-reflection is what takes this essay from good to great.

In addition to zooming in on their own character, the student also zooms out from their own experience, to arrive at thoughtful, compelling takeaways that assuredly would hold the attention of a million people. Lines such as “Humor is a valid coping mechanism, but it’s now a crutch for a generation that needs to start walking on its own” and “Given the numbing nature of dark humor, youth prefer it over justice. Rape culture is palatable once it’s a punchline. Laughter is more socially acceptable than tears” show that this student is not only personally invested in this issue, but ready to start taking steps towards solving it.

Lastly, this essay is incredibly well-written and easy to follow. The passionate yet conversational tone stays true to the goal of the prompt (start a conversation!), and because of the writer’s varied sentence structure, we never get bored or want to stop reading.

What Could Be Improved 

The main problem with this essay comes in its last paragraph: 

“To begin my conversation, I would address my own desensitization, urging my audience to examine theirs as well. Through my talk, I want individuals to undergo a transformative examination of social media consumption and the role of humor in the face of tragedy. Hopefully, my talk leads them to consider how they can work to alleviate social issues, rather than laughing at them.”

Unfortunately, this paragraph doesn’t tell us anything we don’t already know, which unfortunately means the student has essentially wasted 63 words in a 250 word essay. If you write a strong essay (which this student does), you do not need to wrap things up or connect your answer back to the prompt explicitly. Those things will just happen naturally.

Instead of this paraphrased, overly tidy conclusion, the student could have painted a picture of what their talk would look like. For example:

“Hopefully, I can inspire my audience to reflect on their own desensitization, as I did, by describing the time I retweeted ten Trump memes in an hour, and how that did absolutely nothing to help me feel better about the state of the country. Turning away from band-aid solutions and committing to sucking the poison out of the wound is challenging, but I hope that through my talk and conversations my listeners have with each other afterwards, more of us will feel ready to take on that challenge.”

This version doesn’t just summarize points the student has already made, but rather presents us with tangible ways (reflecting on their own low moments; conversations after their talk) they hope to continue fighting back against desensitization.

Essay Example #2 – The Power of Debate

Prompt:   What is something about yourself that is essential to understanding you? (250 words)

“Chill. Out.”

Surely my classmates felt annoyed that I had transformed a simple English debate about the existence of the American Dream into a full-on tirade, hands revolving in furious circles, voice emphatically piercing throughout the room. But for me, the slightest mention of a debate, even a minor discussion on the best team in the NFL (Patriots!), unleashes my passionate, borderline bombastic self, determined to conquer the war of words.

Of course, when discussing the merits of pharmaceutical price controls at a debate tournament, my assertive speaking style and quick-thinking become valuable assets. But other times, I find those tendencies to hinder what would otherwise be productive, civilized conversations. Often, a simple discussion about the merits of pineapple on pizza would quickly devolve into a redundant, unproductive squabble. I have to constantly remind myself that not everything needs to be debated endlessly, no matter how much I vehemently disagree (Pineapple on pizza, however, is a TERRIBLE idea).

Yet it is this desire to seek truth and conclusion, to vouch for my beliefs, that drives me to my life endeavors. Whether it be interning at an immigration law firm and fighting for clients’ prosperity or volunteering for a local Board of Education candidate, I strive to focus my love for reasoning and dialogue into avenues that benefit those around me. Pointless debates lead nowhere, but insightful, genuine conversations are essential to addressing the key issues that affect our community. And honestly, pineapple on pizza doesn’t really matter that much anyway.

Not only does this essay start with a one-line paragraph, it starts with two sentence fragments. This is a great way to begin a college app essay, because let’s face it: admissions readers have to plow through hundreds of essays per day. They don’t want to pick apart drawn-out introductions. They want something that’s going to pique their interest, and “ Chill. Out. ” meets this requirement. It immediately creates a drive to read more: what is the conflict here? Who’s saying “chill out,” and why? 

Throughout this essay, the writer uses physical and powerful verbs to describe their passion for debating. If you went through the essay with red pen, you’d underline a lot of dynamic action: “ vehemently disagree ,”  “ drive ,” “ conquer the wa r,” “ voice piercing through the room .”  Words like these involve the reader physically in the action of debate in a way that drier words, like “respond” or “address” would not. As a result, the applicant comes across as enthusiastic and passionate.  And, as the icing on the cake, the violent words make the author’s personal growth – their stoic mastery over their passions – resonate as more truthful by the end of the essay. We can appreciate their calm, because we’ve experienced their storm. 

By far, the most important element of this essay is its focus on a personal transformation . This applicant could have relished in their success on debate team or the Board of Education, but they don’t – instead, they involve these occurrences in a narrative about their fatal flaw . 

Why is this attractive to an admissions reader? Well, because it demonstrates that the applicant is introspective and interested in improving themself in deeply personal ways. For example, it takes humility to insert yourself into the perspectives of others (“ surely my classmates felt annoyed ”). And it takes honesty to 1) identify a problem with yourself and 2) correct your behavior (“ I have to constantly remind myself that not everything needs to be debated ”). 

What Could Be Improved

There is honestly very little this student needs to do to strengthen this essay as it already is captivating, passionate, and illuminating. However, a word of caution is to make sure the mood of your essay matches your personality. This essay works because as far as we can tell from what this student tells us about themselves and the activities they engage in, they are outspoken, quick-thinking, and love to exchange ideas. These qualities all lend themselves to a fast-paced, dynamic essay. But if that isn’t you, don’t try and inject powerful language into your essay to have the same impact as this student. Make sure your essay reflects you and the story you are trying to tell.

Essay Example #3 – Admitting You Were Wrong

This essay covers the difficult topics of eating disorders and mental health. If you’re thinking about covering similar topics in your essay, we recommend reading our post Should You Talk About Mental Health in College Essays?

Prompt: USC believes that one learns best when interacting with people of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Tell us about a time you were exposed to a new idea or when your beliefs were challenged by another point of view. Please discuss the significance of the experience and its effect on you. (250 words)

“You barely have lunch, and I’m worried that you’re not eating enough.”

My face burnt bright red. They know.

It was true, of course. Throughout sophomore year, my daily food intake slowly inched below 1,500 calories, barely enough to sustain a toddler. Six months in, my period halted its monthly cycle – hormonal amenorrhea. Tired, anxious, scared. Yet, nothing deterred the voice in my head from telling me that I would never be small enough.

With an already petite stature, my health was never questioned; people seldom criticized my diet or the amount of space I occupied in a room. Skinny was healthy, and I bought into that myth. Until I started to listen. I listened as my friend confronted me with her concerns. For the first time, I was exposed to a new definition of health detached from fear foods and aesthetics. Not immediately convinced but willing to change, her perspective encouraged me to do the research and reflect on my health subjectively. In the following week, dietetic research papers and videos filled my search history; the verdict was glaringly clear. I was wrong.

Today, I exercise for adrenaline. I eat for fuel. I recognize my worth beyond the number on the scale. Listening to a different perspective was all it took for me to unravel the flaws of my own, and that, as I currently eat the rest of the holiday toffee pretzels unabashedly, is something that I am forever thankful for.

This student opened up about a deeply personal topic in a that really allowed the reader to see the mental and physical effect her eating disorder had on her. We aren’t just told she had an eating disorder and when she was confronted by a friend it changed her perspective; we are shown  what she suffered through and what her original perspective was. 

Admitting to thoughts about the “ amount of space [she] occupied in a room ” and how “ Skinny was healthy”  demonstrates very clearly her mental stance on her body. That contrasts with her admission of her physical health: “ my daily food intake slowly inched below 1,500 calories, barely enough to sustain a toddler ” and “ my period halted its monthly cycle. ” Describing both the mental and physical aspects help us to understand the depth of the struggle she went through and how deeply engrained she was in her current way of thinking.

This essay has a triumphant ending that warms our heart for the student because she was able to find help and conquer her eating disorder. The last paragraph nicely reflects on the effect this new idea had on the student by showing us her new mental approach to food and her weight: “ Today, I exercise for adrenaline. I eat for fuel. I recognize my worth beyond the number on the scale. ” Finishing the essay with her giving thanks for eating “ holiday toffee pretzels unabashedly ” brings a light-hearted conclusion to a serious essay and leaves the reader with a smile on their face for how far this student has come. 

While the narrative this student tells is very good, it reads more like an “Overcoming Challenges” essay than a “New Beliefs” essay. This could be fixed with more attention to the encounter with her friend and her subsequent research on eating healthy.

We are simply told, “ I listened as my friend confronted me with her concerns, ” and that through that experience she was “ exposed to a new definition of health detached from fear foods and aesthetics. ” However, what we want to see is how this student grappled with the confrontation and what her mental and emotional response was to learning new information that contradicted her previous assumptions.

Like in the beginning, a quote from her friend would be a nice way to place the reader in the action. This student also provided us with a lot of introspection about her eating disorder, so the essay should pay the same amount of attention to her overcoming it. For example, she might write something like this:

“ ‘We are all concerned for you.’ The sad eyes of my friend roamed over my thinning body, and I heard my heart shatter. I wasn’t just hurting myself, I was causing all my friends and family to worry. ‘I think you’ll like this article.’ Turning her computer around, big bold letters ran across the screen: YOU ARE MORE THAN A NUMBER. I hesitated in the moment, terrified of letting go of the societal message to be skinny that had become my mantra. But as my sunken, tired eyes looked back at me in the mirror that night, I opened up the article and learned just how wrong I had been. ” 

Where to Get Your USC Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your USC essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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College Essays

So you have your heart set on going to the University of Southern California . That's great—it's one of the best schools in the country ! Unfortunately, that makes it tough to get into: only 10% of applicants are admitted each year .

But don't worry. This guide will teach you everything you need to know to write an outstanding USC Writing Supplement .

We'll answer all of your questions, including the following:

• What is the USC supplement?
• What are the questions, and how do I answer them?
• Are there tips and tricks for knocking your USC essays out of the park?
• What steps do I take to finish my USC application?

Let's get started!

Feature Image: Sitao Xiang / Wikimedia

What Is the USC Supplement?

The USC Writing Supplement is an additional part of the USC application that you fill out on the Common App website.

The supplement itself consists of two writing prompts (250 words each) and 12 short-answer questions (100 characters each) . The word limits mean you'll have to cram a lot of information into a small amount of space.

Great USC essays are going to be concise, honest, creative, and engaging . Remember, USC designed the supplement to help admissions counselors get a better sense of your personality. Don't be afraid to embrace your individuality here! It's your chance to share aspects of yourself, your life, and your goals that aren't captured by the Common App.

In other words: this is your time to shine.

( Bobak Ha'Eri / Wikimedia)

Where Can I Find the USC Supplement?

The writing supplement is part of the USC Common Application. Once you've selected USC as one of your colleges, it should pop up in the application portal. If you're not exactly sure how to find it, don't worry ... here's a step-by-step guide!

• Log into the Common App website using your username and password.
• Click on the "College Search" tab and look for "University of Southern California."
• Select the search result and then click "add" to add it to your profile.
• Return to your dashboard and look for "University of Southern California." Click the label below the school that reads "Show more details."
• From there, click on the link titled "Writing Questions."
• You can also access the supplement by clicking on "University of Southern California" and scrolling down the school's home page on the Common App to find a link labeled "Writing Questions."

How Do I Answer the USC Essay Prompts?

The writing supplement contains two short writing prompts designed to showcase both your writing skills and your personality. But because you're limited to 250 words, you need to make every word count .

Here are some general strategies to keep in mind.

#1: Use a Standard Format

It's important that you aren't wasting precious space. A good strategy is to limit your intro/thesis statement and your conclusion to one sentence each . That lets you use the rest of the space to answer the prompt.

#2: Show, Don't Tell

Instead of giving run-of-the-mill answers, use stories and anecdotes to illustrate your point. Paint a picture for your audience when you can!

For example, say you're talking about your love of photography. Instead of writing, "I love to photograph people," see if you can capture the feeling of taking someone's picture.

A better sentence might read, "I love trying to capture people's personalities through my camera lens." The first answer tells us that you enjoy photography, but the second response shows us why you love it .

#3: Edit, Edit, Edit

Don't be disappointed if your first attempt at answering these prompts goes over the word limit. That's OK! Keep cutting and revising until you end up with something great.

Here are a few examples of how you can edit a sentence to make every word work:

• OK: "It was the very best experience of my whole life."
• Better: "It was the best experience of my life."
• Best: "The trip was transformational."
• Passive: "Geology would be my preferred major."
• Active: "I plan to major in geology."
• With "is": "Researching cancer treatments is my ultimate career goal."
• Without "is": "I plan to pursue a career in cancer research."

#4: Don't Wait Until the Last Minute

The USC supplement is short, so it's tempting to tackle it at the end of the application process. Don't! Writing short responses is harder than it looks, so give yourself plenty of time .

The USC Essay

USC is making things more streamlined this year: everyone answers the same question! Here's the prompt:

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections.

What Is This Question Asking You to Do?

No option here: you're stuck with this prompt and limited to 250 words in your response. But that's OK because this is the "Why USC?" question. (It's a version of what we call the "why this college" around here.)

Why do you need to go to USC to fulfill your dreams? Or, put another way: why is USC the only school for you?

This means choosing and discussing your major (and your second-choice major if your program is very competitive). Remember that you're not committed to the major you pick . You can change majors after you've enrolled.

How Do You Answer This Question?

Research, research, research. Visit the USC website and get to know your college, your department, and the classes offered. Also, take a close look at your major's course of study. If you're going to take classes from other departments, figure out which ones and why. For example, if you're majoring in international relations and want to work in China, you'll probably take foreign language/culture courses (like Advanced Modern Chinese) and political science courses (like Chinese Foreign Policy). Research the professors in the department and mention them by name.

• Seize the day. There's more to college than going to class. Making the most of USC means getting involved and taking advantage of opportunities such as internships and study abroad programs. There are over 100 international fellowships and programs available through different colleges, so be sure to look into them . Mentioning programs like the Global Fellows Internship (available to all students) or the Maymester , which is a major-specific opportunity, shows that you're serious about making the most of your education at USC.
• Focus on USC. Your job is to show why USC and nowhere else can help you achieve your dreams.

Optional Essay: Explaining Your Education Gap

Who is this question for.

First thing's first: not everyone needs to answer this question. Only respond to this prompt if you took a semester or more off between high school and enrolling in college, or if you took time off while enrolled in high school.

So if you took a gap year (or two, or three), you should answer this question.

This isn't a trick question. Admissions counselors genuinely want to know why you took time off between high school and starting college. And don't worry if your reason isn't "sexy," like you were rescuing sea turtles off the coast of Argentina or teaching English to underprivileged students in Iowa. For most people, the answers will fall along the lines of getting a job, financial difficulties, or helping out their family.

In short: this question is asking you to honestly explain your education gap so that admissions counselors have a better idea of you and your story.

How Do You Answer the Question?

• Keep it short and sweet. It's tempting to give admissions counselors every detail of your situation. But the truth is, they only need to know the most pertinent information while still being honest. Remember: you only have 250 words!
• Explain why you're choosing now to return to school. Counselors are also going to be interested in why you want to go to college now. Be honest about this, too! It's okay to say that you wanted to take some time off to really figure out what you wanted to do with your life, and now you're prepared and excited to throw yourself into your studies. Whatever the case may be, make it clear that you're ready to be an engaged and dedicated student regardless of your education gap.
• Don't make excuses. This isn't a "woe is me" section. While taking time off between high school and college may have been out of your control, this isn't the time to air your grievances. The best answers to this question will keep things as honest and positive as possible.

Your answers in the next section might be small, but they're mighty.

Freddie Alequin /Flickr

The USC Short-Answer Questions

On the surface, the short-answer questions seem simple, but many students find this section the hardest part of the supplement . That's because these responses are limited to 100 characters or less—shorter than a tweet!

Here are some general tips to make tackling the USC short-answer questions a breeze:

#1: Maximize the space you have. There's room to elaborate on your answers a bit, and you should.

#2: There are no right answers. Admissions counselors don't have specific responses in mind. This is their way of trying to get to know the person behind the application.

#3: You're more than a major. It's tempting to make every answer tie into your major or future career in some way; instead, your answers should capture who you are as a person and hark back to your academic goals only if it makes sense for them to.

#4: Don't be afraid of a little humor. Embrace being funny but not at someone else's expense. 

#5: Avoid clichés.

#6: Keep it tasteful. If you wouldn't say it to your parents, don't say it to an admissions counselor!

Now that you have some solid strategies, let's look at each question individually.

Questions 1-3: Describe Yourself in Three Words

A good way to tackle this question is to ask your friends and family to text you their responses, and look for patterns . For example, if five people say you are nice and caring, combine those into one idea, such as "empathetic."

Adjectives are the most common words to use, but you can pick nouns, too! Just stick to ones with personality (like "bookworm" if you love to read, or "shutterbug" if you're a photographer). Choose words that are highly descriptive (e.g., "enthusiastic" instead of "fun") and avoid clichés as much as you can.

Oh, and the supplement breaks this response into three separate fields , so make sure you don't type all three words on one line ! Also, note that there's a 25-character limit per word, so think "antidisestablishmentarian" or shorter.

Here are some sample responses:

• Whimsical, artistic, collaborative
• Competitive, thoughtful, engaging
• Loquacious, jovial, encouraging
• Reserved, compassionate, giving

Question 4: What Is Your Favorite Snack?

Here's a chance to showcase your personality by being specific . Let's say that you love peanut M&Ms. A specific answer might say, "Eating peanut M&Ms while watching a scary movie."

You can also touch on your personal history , especially if you come from a diverse background. You could say something like "My abuela's enchiladas" or "Almond Crush Pocky" as a nod to your heritage.

Finally, lean into your weird . We all have strange snacks that somehow hit the spot (we're looking at you, hot dog buns dunked in hot chocolate). If there's a bonkers food you enjoy—such as dipping tater tots in soft-serve ice cream—this is your time to shine. An added bonus? It will definitely make an impression.

• Perfectly toasted marshmallows while sitting around a campfire.
• A hot dog and soda from Fenway Park.
• Homemade apple pie with melted cheddar cheese on top!
• A package of Digestive Biscuits (they're cookies!) and a glass of milk.

Question 5: Best Movie of All Time

This question can make applicants anxious because people are passionate about the movies they love ... and the movies they love to hate! That's why we recommend that you either give a serious answer or embrace your silliness.

This goes without saying, but make sure your movie choice is appropriate . If you wouldn't watch it with your family, don't list it here. Also, steer clear of any super-controversial picks—don't pick a film that's clearly discriminatory, such as Birth of a Nation.

• Serious: Blade Runner because of its influence on sci-fi film.
• Serious: Saving Private Ryan . It reminds us that war is hard, dangerous, and tragic.
• Silly: The Lion King . We should all "hakuna matata" a little more!
• Both: Legally Blonde —I love stories about women chasing their dreams.

What is your ideal job? Maybe it's making mini beach dioramas in vintage suitcases.

Question 6: Dream Job

Obviously, this answer should roughly align with your major . (Don't say your dream job is to play Aaron Burr in Hamilton if you're majoring in computer science.)

You should also think big and think ahead. For instance, if you're a computer science major, maybe you want to start a company that develops assistive AI for people with disabilities. Embrace big goals!

The more specific you are, the better. Don't just say you want to be a veterinarian. What kind of animals do you want to work with? Will you specialize in something? Do you want to own your own practice? Adding detail will make your answer stand out.

• A large-animal veterinarian that helps rural farmers care for their livestock.
• The owner of a non-profit that helps women of color succeed in corporate America.
• A judge appointed to the US Courts of Appeals.

Question 7: If Your Life Had a Theme Song, What Would It Be?

Everyone needs a little walk-in music. As you think about yours, choose a song with a title that makes a point . It's tempting to pick a song with a specific lyric that speaks to you, but your admissions counselor might not be able to make the connection. Think more along the lines of "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty or "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" by Aretha Franklin and the Eurythmics.

Be careful that your song title can't be misconstrued. "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred might seem like a funny choice to you, but it could also come across as cocky or overconfident.

Additionally, keep your choice appropriate . Look through the song lyrics to make sure they aren't offensive.

And whatever you do, don't say the Trojan Fight Song . That's probably the most popular—and most clichéd—answer you could possibly give!

• "Beautiful Day" by U2
• "My Shot" from the Hamilton soundtrack
• "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey

Maybe your dream trip is a mix of adventure and van life.

Question 8: Dream Trip

There's no special trick to answering this question. Just be honest and specific! And feel free to focus on experiences as well as destinations. Maybe you want to snorkel with stingrays in the Caribbean or visit the Lord of the Rings set locations in New Zealand. Share that here!

• Letting a lantern go during the Floating Lantern Festival in Thailand.
• Hiking to the top of Machu Picchu.
• Driving from California to Illinois on Route 66 with my best friends.
• Eating paella from a street vendor in Barcelona.
• Visiting Zimbabwe and bungee jumping off the Victoria Falls Bridge.

Question 9: What TV Show Will You Binge Watch Next?

This is another question designed to reveal something about you, your likes, and your dislikes. We suggest that you pick a show you like, as long as it isn't completely without substance. If you're having a hard time choosing, try narrowing it down to your favorite genre first.

• I'll binge Making a Murderer because I'm interested in how the justice system works (and doesn't work).
• The Good Place because it combines comedy and philosophy!
• Friends because it helps you understand interpersonal relationships.

I'm bingeing RuPaul's Drag Race and learning a lot about drag culture and inclusivity.

Question 10: Which Well-Known Person or Fictional Character Would Be Your Ideal Roommate?

This question essentially wants to know who you could see yourself living with on a daily basis , whether it's a fictional character from a TV show or book you love, or a real-life celebrity, such as a movie star, singer, scientist, activist, writer, or historical figure.

The prompt doesn't limit you to living celebrities, so feel free to write about somebody who passed away recently (think Stephen Hawking) or even centuries ago (such as Jane Austen).

Make sure that you're choosing a person who will reveal something positive and/or unique about yourself. It's also OK to throw in a little humor! For example, if you're a huge Renaissance-period buff, you could talk about how you'd love to live with King Henry VIII because he'd entertain you every night with stories of his marriages.

Regardless of who you choose to write about, remember that the admissions committee wants to learn something about you through the person you pick to be your roommate , so be sure that you can clearly tie them back to yourself and your own interests somehow.

• Marie Curie because we could conduct experiments together after class every day.
• Hermione Granger! She'd be a great study buddy and could teach me magic on the side.
• David Sedaris. We could write stories together and he'd never fail to make me laugh!

Question 11: Favorite Book

This is a pretty straightforward question that's similar to the "favorite movie" one above. Be honest— don't try to pass off a book as one of your favorites just because it sounds impressive or is highly intellectual . The admissions committee will likely be able to tell if you're trying to show off!

At the same time, don't write about a book that's overly childish or inappropriate , or that fails to reveal anything interesting or impressive about you. For instance, even if you really love Twilight , unless you can say something a little more intellectual about it, such as how you enjoy analyzing its portrayal of codependency in teenage relationships, this book likely won't leave much of a positive impression on the USC admissions committee.

• Wild because this book inspired me to be courageous and go on a three-day hike by myself.
• Lolita is my favorite book because it's downright disturbing yet hauntingly beautiful.
• Definitely The Hobbit . It was the first book I read that showed me the power of taking risks.

Question 12: If You Could Teach a Class on any Topic, What Would It Be?

This final question from USC is truly a thought-provoking one. Basically, the admissions committee wants to know what kind of class you'd teach if you could choose any topic of interest to you .

While the topic you write about doesn't need to directly relate to your major, it should definitely be something you're deeply passionate (and, ideally, fairly knowledgeable) about . Are you really into horror movies and enjoy dissecting their depictions of female characters? Then perhaps you'd like to teach a class on women in horror.

Be as specific as you can be. Don't just say you want to teach a class on the environment because you're committed to combating climate change. What specific topic concerning the environment or climate change would you like others to learn more about, and why?

• A creative writing class that would focus on writing stories from the perspective of children.
• Women of color in astronomy. Too few know about the accomplishments of Beth Brown and Mae Jemison!
• The Navajo language. Not enough schools teach it and we Native Americans must strive to preserve it.

Finishing your supplement is like climbing a really tall flight of stairs. Just put one foot in front of the other! 

Next Steps for Your USC Supplement

Even once you've finished and submitted your Common App and USC essays, you're not quite done. Most of USC's colleges require you to submit additional materials, such as portfolios or writing samples, before your application is considered complete.

Visit the links below to view each college's supplemental application requirements and submission deadlines:

• USC School of Architecture
• Roski School of Art and Design
• Iovine and Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation
• Marshall School of Business (World Bachelor in Business)
• USC School of Cinematic Arts
• Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
• Kaufman School of Dance
• Ostrow School of Dentistry (Junior Transfers Only)
• USC School of Dramatic Arts
• Viterbi School of Engineering
• Thornton School of Music

Need Some Extra Help?

The USC application process can be overwhelming, but PrepScholar is here to help you succeed ! Check out our resources below for more information about how our experts can help you achieve your dreams.

Haven't started your Common Application yet? No problem! We've got you covered with tips and tricks to make your application stand out from the crowd .

Start learning more about USC! Check out their admission requirements , mission statement, admission website, and this great blog post about getting to know USC without leaving your couch.

Still stressed about your supplement? Get in touch with PrepScholar's college admissions team !

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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USC Supplemental Essays 2023-24 Prompts and Tips

September 1, 2023

When applying to a school like the University of Southern California, it is important to grasp that their acceptance rate in 2023 is lower than Harvard’s back in the late 1990s. Last cycle, USC received roughly 80,000 applications and admitted just 9% from that pool (their first time in the single digits). We don’t bring up these numbers or the Friends -era Harvard comparison to cause future applicants unnecessary fear. Rather, we want aspiring Trojans to realize that in addition to strong high school grades and standardized test scores, they need to excel in other critical areas of their application as well. This brings us to the topic of the USC supplemental essays.

(Want to learn more about How to Get Into the University of Southern California? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into USC: Admissions Data and Strategies   for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

The supplemental essay section offered by USC is a fairly epic one and presents just such an opportunity for students to differentiate themselves from swarms of other qualified applicants. In addition to several short essays, you are also required to answer 10 short answer questions. Below are the USC’s supplemental prompts for the 2023-24 admissions cycle along with tips about how to address each one.

2023-24 USC Supplemental Essays – Required Prompt #1

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (Approximately 250 words)

This is part “Why Us?” and part “Explain Your Major” and your aim is to seamlessly touch on both topics in a tightly woven 250-word composition. For a deeper dive, let’s examine a list of characteristics of a winning USC “Why Us?” essay:

• How did your interest in your major of choice begin and how has it matured over the years?
• While pursuing your majors(s)/interest(s) of choice, how will you take advantage of the university’s immense resources both inside and outside of the classroom? Be sure to cite specific  academic programs ,  professors ,  research opportunities ,  internship/externship programs , and  study abroad programs . Discuss why they pique your interest.
• Feel free to touch on  student-run organizations  related to your field of study that you would like to join.
• Lastly, don’t ignore your second-choice major in this essay.

In any “Why Us?” composition, you need to show that you’ve done your homework on a given school, but you don’t want it to read like a robotic list of items that you Googled ten minutes before writing the essay (even if the timing of the Google search is roughly accurate). In addition to the pure research element, a lot of the time and skill required in creating a stellar USC essay will involve connecting the classes, professors, opportunities, etc. of interest that you have uncovered to your distinct values, talents, aims, proficiencies, and future goals.

USC Supplemental Essays – Short Answers

(#1 provides 25 characters for each word, and #2-10 provide 100 characters each)

• Describe yourself in three words.
• What is your favorite snack?
• Best movie of all time
• If your life had a theme song, what would it be?
• What TV show will you binge watch next?
• Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate?
• Favorite book
• If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?

USC Supplemental Essays (Continued)

It would be a bit silly to try to advise you on what your favorite snack is. Obviously, the USC admissions committee wants to hear “Pepperoni Pizza Combos” but will also accept “Ranch-flavored Bugles.” As such, we’ll keep our advice on these a bit broader:

• This is a chance to make a personal connection with an admissions officer. Don’t overthink these or pick movies, books, songs, or trips that you think an admissions officer will find impressive. Just be genuine.
• For #1, try to avoid words like “interesting” that are…well, not very  interesting , or words that could describe most of USC’s applicant pool, like “hard-working” or “dedicated.”
• For #10, don’t pick a general topic in a traditional discipline. Instead, pick something about which you are passionate. This could be a blend of pop culture and academics or a highly esoteric topic that you happen to be obsessed with (e.g., the Beatles 1965-67 mid-career era, the history of jai-alai, or how to groom a ferret).
• You have 100 characters to utilize, so do include some short explanations that infuse your answers with extra personality. For example, you could jazz up Ranch-flavored Bugles as follows: “Ranch-flavored Bugles, me and my mom’s go-to Jeopardy snack.”
• Final tip: if you feel stuck, try brainstorming a few options for each one before choosing your favorite.

USC Supplemental Essays – School-Specific Prompts

In addition to the required essays noted above, you’ll also need to answer at least one additional essay question that is dependent on the school or college you are applying to at USC. Below, we’ve broken down the most popular options:

Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Many of us have at least one issue or passion that we care deeply about – a topic on which we would love to share our opinions and insights in hopes of sparking intense interest and continued conversation. If you had ten minutes and the attention of a million people, what would your talk be about? (250 words)

What makes you tick? What keeps you up at night? Which subjects could (and do) you talk about for hours if given the opportunity? If you could address one problem in the world, large or small, what would it be? Here’s your chance to tell us all about it. You’ll then want to explain “why”—why will (or should) your passion/topic of choice be made relevant to a wider audience? Why is it so important that others hear your message? Your answer will give admissions readers greater insight into what type of issues are most important to you.

Viterbi School of Engineering

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and their 14 Grand Challenges go hand-in-hand with our vision to engineer a better world for all humanity. Engineers and computer scientists are challenged to solve these problems in order to improve life on the planet. Learn more about the NAE Grand Challenges at  http://engineeringchallenges.org  and tell us which challenge is most important to you, and why. (250 words)

The NAE Grand Challenges list is expansive and includes a number of pressing issues, like clean water access, solar energy, and nuclear terrorism. Basically, you are 100% guaranteed to find at least one item on this list that resonates with you. After reviewing the options, which one are you most passionate about, and why? Is there something from your personal background or experiences that inspired your interest in this area? Alternatively, have you engaged with this topic either inside or outside of school, and if so, how? What would you still like to learn about it? If you choose an issue that you are genuinely interested in and clearly convey your reasoning for doing so, you’ll be well on your way to a compelling response.

The student body at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering is a diverse group of unique engineers and computer scientists who work together to engineer a better world for all humanity. Describe how your contributions to the USC Viterbi student body may be distinct from others. Please feel free to touch on any part of your background, traits, skills, experiences, challenges, and/or personality in helping us better understand you. (250 words)

Take note of the wide-open nature of this prompt. You are essentially invited to talk about any of the following topics:

• A perspective you hold
• An experience/challenge you had
• A community you belong to
• Your cultural background
• Your family background
• A personality trait
• A skill you hold

Although this prompt’s open floor plan may feel daunting, a good tactic is to first consider what has already been communicated within your Common App personal statement, activities list, and other USC essays. What important aspects of yourself have not been shared (or sufficiently discussed)? The admissions officer reading your essay is hoping to connect with you through your written words, so—within your essay’s reflection—be open, humble, thoughtful, inquisitive, emotionally honest, mature, and/or insightful about what you learned and how you grew. No matter what type of story you tell, the goal is to have the reader come away saying, “I can definitely see this applicant as a contributing member of our talented and engaged Viterbi community.”

How important are the USC supplemental essays?

There are five factors that USC considers to be “very important” to their candidate evaluation process and the essay section is one of them. Along with GPA, standardized test scores, rigor of high school coursework, and recommendations, the Common App and supplement essays play a huge role in the USC admissions staff’s decision-making.

Want personalized assistance?

Lastly, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your USC supplemental essays, we encourage you to  get a quote  today.

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Tackling USC Supplemental Essays for the 2023-2024 Admissions Cycle

Navigating the complex process of college applications can feel overwhelming, especially when dealing with supplemental essays. The University of Southern California (USC), renowned for its top-tier programs and vibrant campus life, requires applicants to submit multiple supplemental essays as part of their application package. In this blog post, we provide you with specific, targeted advice for each prompt, ensuring your responses effectively convey your individuality, drive, and fit for USC.

General Prompt

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC. (250 words)

This is an opportunity to exhibit both your academic fervor and genuine interest in USC. Don't just list courses and professors that interest you; instead, connect your intellectual curiosity to specific opportunities at USC. Showcase how USC's academic resources, interdisciplinary approach, or specific programs align with your aspirations.

Example Essay

As a child, I spent countless hours immersed in a world of Legos, building intricate structures that stretched my creativity and tested my patience. As I matured, this hobby evolved into a passionate interest in urban planning and sustainable development.

At USC, I intend to pursue a major in Urban Studies and Planning, as it perfectly combines my interests in sustainability, urban design, and sociology. USC's unique interdisciplinary approach provides a robust exploration of these areas. I'm particularly drawn to the Real Estate Development program, which ties in the business perspective necessary for practical implementation.

Moreover, the Capstone Project in the senior year promises hands-on experience, allowing me to connect the theoretical knowledge with real-world applications. I'm excited about the possibility of working with professors like Dr. Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, whose research on the economic impact of cultural trends aligns with my interest in urban cultures and their influence on city development.

Overall, the blend of academic rigor, innovative research, and practical exposure at USC provides the ideal platform to deepen my understanding and contribute significantly to urban development, shaping a sustainable future.

Optional Prompt

Has there been a time when you've had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? (250 words)

Approach this prompt by picking a specific belief, discussing its origin, and illustrating how it was challenged. Show your maturity and capacity for growth by explaining how this shift in perspective impacted your values and actions. Remember, this is about your development, not just the belief.

Growing up in a tightly-knit community, I held a firm belief in the strength and unyielding support of unity. However, when I began volunteering at a local homeless shelter, my belief was challenged.

In the shelter, I observed a strong sense of community, yet it wasn't flawless. Disputes arose often, support waned in challenging times, and unity was occasionally overshadowed by personal interest. This realization shook my idealistic view of communal harmony.

Rather than distancing myself from the shelter, I chose to immerse myself deeper. I initiated open discussions among the shelter residents, providing a safe space to air grievances, forge stronger bonds, and foster empathy. I learned that unity is not inherent but cultivated, demanding patience, understanding, and active engagement.

My time at the shelter reshaped my belief in unity. I learned that it's not always harmonious, yet the pursuit of it is a testament to our collective strength and resilience. I'm eager to bring this nuanced understanding to USC, contributing to and learning from its diverse community.

Short Answer Questions

Short answer questions are all about brevity and impact. Each answer should reveal something unique about your character.

What is something about yourself that is essential to understanding you? (25 words)

In only a few words, share an intriguing insight about your character, passion, or unique trait that could stimulate a reader's curiosity.

Describe your dream job (25 words).

This answer should echo your long-term ambitions, aligning with your prospective major or indicating an innovative perspective on your future career.

Prompts for Specific Schools

The School of Architecture: Describe an instance or place where you have been inspired by architecture or design. (250 words)

Detail the architectural or design element that inspired you, focusing on the emotions and thoughts it evoked. Conclude by connecting this experience with your decision to pursue architecture at USC.

Walking through the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, I was captivated by the innovative design that defied traditional architectural conventions. Frank Gehry’s fluid design, interplaying with light and reflection, created an experience as moving as the artwork it housed.

The swirling titanium facade, reflective of the nearby river, sparked a deep appreciation for the transformative potential of architecture. It created a conversation between the built environment and nature, manifesting a symbiosis rarely achieved in modern urban design. This ignited in me an aspiration to create spaces that transcend functionality, embodying a dialogue between man, nature, and the built environment.

Studying architecture at USC, I look forward to learning the principles that can turn these aspirations into reality. USC's School of Architecture's emphasis on sustainable, forward-thinking design resonates with my desire to create spaces that not only serve humans but also respect the natural world.

The School of Cinematic Arts: In what ways do you believe your personal experiences and background shaped you as a creator? (250 words)

Narrate a personal story or experience, illustrating how it has influenced your creative process or style. Connect your journey to USC's School of Cinematic Arts, showing how it will enhance your evolution as a creator.

Growing up in a small Midwestern town, I often found myself starved for diversity, leading me to seek varying perspectives through cinema. This craving developed into a passion for filmmaking, with a goal to spotlight untold stories.

My experience volunteering at a local community center introduced me to a diverse range of experiences and narratives, fueling my desire to amplify marginalized voices through my work. From the resilience of a single mother to the inspiring journey of an immigrant teenager, these stories challenged my worldviews and inspired me to capture them in film.

At USC's School of Cinematic Arts, I aim to refine my storytelling skills, adding depth and nuance to my work. I am particularly drawn to the school's emphasis on diverse narratives and its commitment to social justice. I believe the experiences and perspectives I bring will add to the rich tapestry of creativity at USC, and I am excited to grow as a creator among fellow storytellers.

Viterbi School of Engineering: How do you intend to leverage engineering to make a significant societal impact? (250 words)

Highlight a social issue you're passionate about and propose a potential engineering solution. Showcase how Viterbi's resources, network, or curriculum can help you bring this vision to life.

From observing my grandmother struggle with mobility issues, I developed an interest in Biomedical Engineering, intending to design assistive devices to aid the elderly.

At USC Viterbi, I plan to leverage the school's robust research facilities, renowned faculty, and focus on technological innovation to make this vision a reality. I am particularly excited about the Health, Technology and Engineering program that merges medicine with engineering principles, preparing its students to tackle pressing health issues.

I aspire to create affordable, user-friendly devices, ensuring accessibility for all. With the aging global population, I believe such innovations are timely and crucial.

My ultimate aim is to combine empathy with engineering, utilizing technology as a tool to improve quality of life and uphold human dignity. I'm convinced that the Viterbi School of Engineering, with its innovative approach and community impact focus, is the perfect place for me to embark on this journey.

To ace these essays, remember that they're a platform to highlight your uniqueness, intellectual curiosity, and alignment with USC's values. Research thoroughly, infuse your essays with personality, and most importantly, be genuine.

Best of luck, Trojans!

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USC Supplemental Essays 2023-24

Are you interested in applying to USC? Strong USC supplemental essays can make all the difference in the application process. In this guide, we will discuss the University of Southern California’s supplemental essay requirements and application deadlines. We will cover what role essays play in your application review and discuss how to write a strong why USC essay. Additionally, we’ll provide some examples of USC school-specific supplemental essays.

University of Southern California Background

The University of Southern California, often known as USC, is one of the nation’s premier research universities. Located in Los Angeles, California, USC offers undergraduate and graduate degrees to almost 50,000 students. In addition to USC’s academic accomplishments, it also provides students with a great environment in a bustling city. Impressively, USC is ranked # 25 of all the private and public colleges in the country.

Logically, as such top ranking university, USC enrolls some of the best students in the world. In 2022, USC received almost 70,000 first-year applications. But, they admitted just 12% . Unsurprisingly, those students accepted had impressive academics: an average GPA range of 3.82-4.0 and an SAT range of 1410-1540. Selective institutions like USC receive thousands of applicants with high GPAs and SAT scores. Therefore, this means that they look for students with impressive personal attributes, extracurricular involvements, and essays. 

Keep reading to learn more about the USC essay requirements and how you can use them to your advantage.

USC Essay Prompts: Quick Facts

• University of Southern California Acceptance Rate – US News ranks the University of Southern California as a most selective school, with an acceptance rate of 12%.
• 1 Why USC essay 
• 10 short answer essays 
• Early Action: November 1 st
• Regular Decision: January 5 th
• The USC admissions application is hosted on the Common App . Additional required materials include transcripts, letters of recommendation, optional test scores and a portfolio or additional writing sample if required by major. 
• Some academic programs have their own USC essays, so be sure to research those USC supplemental essays as well. 
• Why School and Why Major essays can be a great way to display how you will fit into the campus community. Don’t forget to mention the academic opportunities in and out of the classroom. 
• Don’t overthink your short answer essays. They are meant to be brief and insightful. 
• Start creating an outline for your essays well in advance. Use that outline to create a structured essay. This will allow you to stay organized and avoid writing your essay at the last minute.

Please note that essay requirements are subject to change each admissions cycle, and portions of this article may have been written before the final publication of the most recent guidelines. For the most up-to-date information on essay requirements, check the university’s admissions website. 

Does USC have supplemental essays?

Are you wondering how to get into USC? Like many other selective institutions, USC requires applicants to write USC supplemental essays. Therefore, these essays will play an important role in your application.

In addition to impressive high school transcripts and glowing letters of recommendation, strong USC supplemental essays can positively impact your application. Unlike some of the materials mentioned above, the USC essay prompts allow students to speak directly to the admissions committee. As such, your USC essays are the perfect chance to showcase your personality, interests, and motivations. 

Since USC does not have an admissions interview, the USC supplemental essays are likely the best way to make a personal connection. 

Check out the USC supplemental essay requirements: 

• 1 required Why USC essay
• 10 required short answer essays
• 1 optional educational progression essay

Technically, that’s a total of 11 USC supplemental essays and 1 optional USC writing supplement. In this guide, we’ll summarize the Why USC essay, the short answer USC supplemental essays, and the USC requirements.

Overall, don’t be intimidated by the number of USC supplemental essays. Instead, view your USC supplemental essays as a chance to highlight what makes you stand out.

Additional USC supplemental essay requirements

The application also requires prospective students applying to certain majors to complete additional USC essay prompts. The USC supplemental essays for these majors vary, but they all center around specific academic interests. 

If you are interested in one of these programs, you may need to complete additional USC supplemental essays: 

• Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Science
• USC School of Architecture
• Roski School of Art and Design
• Iovine and Young Academy for Arts
• Technology and the Business of Innovation
• Marshall School of Business (World Bachelor in Business)
• USC School of Cinematic Arts
• Kaufman School of Dance
• USC School of Dramatic Arts.

Keep reading to learn more about the USC supplemental essays and USC essays for specific majors. And, don’t forget to register for our webinar below to learn more about application timelines! 

Why USC Essay

The Why USC essay prompt is one of the most important USC writing supplements. As such, all students applying to USC must complete a Why USC essay. Luckily, the Why USC essay uses a similar format to many Why School or Why Major essays. So, you’ve probably seen similar prompts. Now, let’s review the prompt below and discuss how to structure a compelling Why USC essay. 

PROMPT #1: Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (250 words)

As we can see, the Why USC essay prompt asks the student to articulate their academic plans on the USC campus. Therefore, a strong Why USC essay should show that the student has done their research and is passionate about their academic interests.

In your Why USC essay, try to highlight specific features of USC that excite you. This can take many different forms. For example, some Why USC essays might discuss a high-powered research lab on campus. Alternatively, other Why USC essays might focus on the unique studio culture found at the USC School of Architecture (one of the best architecture schools in the country). 

Most importantly, showing your passion for your desired USC academic program should include evidence and context. So, in your Why USC essay, share what sparked your initial curiosity and what you have done to further explore the discipline. For example, a student applying to the Iovne and Young Academy could discuss how starting an e-commerce business during the pandemic sparked their interest in entrepreneurship and human-centered design. 

Undecided students

Fortunately, admissions officers also understand that not all students have a solidified career plan. If this is you, you can still write a stellar Why USC essay. How? Well, students can still craft a compelling Why USC essay by discussing their academic interests more broadly. Even if you haven’t chosen your career path, you can use your USC essays to highlight your intellectual curiosity and academic strengths. 

Looking for more information on how to write a strong Why USC essay? Then check out our guide on how to write a strong Why Major supplemental essay to help you craft a strong Why USC essay for your major. 

USC Short Answer Essays

In addition to the Why USC essay, the USC requirements also include 10 short answer USC supplemental essays. But, don’t let these short supplemental essays intimidate you. The admissions office looks for responses that reflect your interests, passions, and motivations. Therefore, like the Why USC essay, your answers should be unique to you. However, the answers to each of these questions should be no more than 25 words.

The short answer USC supplemental essays are:

1. Describe yourself in three words. 

2. what is your favorite snack, 3. best movie of all time:, 4. dream job:, 5. if your life had a theme song, what would it be, 6. dream trip:, 7. what tv show will you binge watch next, 8. which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate, 9. favorite book:, 10. if you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be.

The beauty of the short answer USC supplemental essays is they are incredibly personal. This allows you to separate yourself from what you think the admissions committee wants to hear and allows you to foreground who you really are. As such, there is no single right answer to this collection of USC essay prompts. In fact, there are many possible excellent answers.

USC School-Specific Supplemental Essays

Additionally, a handful of majors at USC require applicants to submit a USC writing supplement as part of the admissions application process. So, keep reading for a few examples of school-specific USC requirements and USC supplemental essays. 

Check out the list below to find out more about all the programs that require additional USC essays.

But, what are the major specific USC supplemental essays? Well, keep reading for a few examples of USC essays required by specific programs on the USC campus. 

USC Dornslife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences

The USC Dornslife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences includes the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. Whether you want to major in computational neuroscience or art history, USC Dornslife wants to learn more about your passions through its USC writing supplement. 

Most importantly, a strong application to USC Dornsife includes introspective and well-constructed USC essays. There is one required essay for the USC Dornslife College of Letters, Arts and Science. Now, let’s review and discuss the best way to approach this essay. 

Many of us have at least one issue or passion that we care deeply about – a topic on which we would love to share our opinions and insights in hopes of sparking intense interest and continued conversation. If you had ten minutes and the attention of a million people, what would your talk be about? (250 words)

This USC essay asks the student to discuss a topic that they are passionate about. A strong response to this essay prompt may directly connect to your major or another interest. However, don’t forget, there is no right answer here. First and foremost, this is your opportunity to discuss what you are passionate about. Likewise, you may even connect your academic interests to this passion. But, when choosing what to write about, be sure to stay true to yourself. While you may be inclined to discuss a major world problem, don’t shy away from the smaller topics and messages that might resonate with a large audience. 

Next, we’ll discuss USC supplemental essays for the School of Architecture. 

USC School of Architecture Supplement

Impressively, the USC School of Architecture is one of the best architecture schools in the nation.  The School of Architecture offers a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Inventive Technologies.  Applying to the USC School of Architecture requires students to complete two additional USC essay prompts and a video prompt. 

Our school views architecture as a “human right,” and that design should exhibit “social consciousness.” How do you think architecture can contribute to the greater social consciousness?

At usc architecture we will teach you to become strong critical thinkers. with that in mind please tell us about a piece of architecture that you’ve personally experienced and how its design resonated with you..

The first prompt requires students to connect architecture to the world around them. How might architecture and the built environment contribute to social consciousness? For example, you might focus on sustainable design or buildings that prioritize community spaces. 

This prompt requires reflection, so don’t hesitate to workshop a few essay ideas. Then, choose the one that best suits you. The second prompt asks students to name a specific architectural work that resonates with them. This USC essay also provides the perfect opportunity to share how the world of architecture influences your daily life. 

USC Architecture aims to engage students as critical thinkers through their USC supplemental essays. Therefore, these USC essay prompts ask students to think beyond their favorite skyscraper. Instead, you should consider how architecture and design interact with society, social consciousness, and you as a person. 

USC Video Essays

In addition to the USC essay prompts, the USC School of Architecture also has a USC supplemental video prompt.

Video Prompt:

Please produce a video that presents what you consider to be your favorite project in your portfolio and why. try to be as informative and concise as possible when you’re speaking about the project but also remember to be yourself. we are looking for students that are passionate with a keen curiosity about architecture and design..

In your video response, make sure you choose a project that reflects your interests and potential. Don’t focus on using lofty language—instead, highlight where your ideas came from and how your critical thinking skills inform the work you produce. 

Next, we will discuss the USC supplemental essays for the Viterbi School of Engineering. 

USC Viterbi Supplemental Essays

The USC Viterbi School of Engineering offers a variety of degrees in engineering and computer science. Like other programs, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering requires two additional USC supplemental essays.  Most importantly, the Viterbi USC essays seek to get into the minds of future engineers . Like the School of Architecture USC supplemental essays, the Viterbi USC essays require students to reflect on their personal experiences. 

The student body at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering is a diverse group of unique engineers and computer scientists who work together to engineer a better world for all humanity. Describe how your contributions to the USC Viterbi student body may be distinct from others. Please feel free to touch on any part of your background, traits, skills, experiences, challenges, and/or personality in helping us better understand you. (250 words)

The national academy of engineering (nae) and their 14 grand challenges go hand-in-hand with our vision to engineer a better world for all humanity. engineers and computer scientists are challenged to solve these problems in order to improve life on the planet. learn more about the nae grand challenges at http://engineeringchallenges.org and tell us which challenge is most important to you, and why..

The USC Viterbi School of Engineering wants to learn more about you through the USC supplemental essays. In the first USC writing supplement, applicants should talk about the ways their unique traits and experiences add to the USC Engineering student body. In fact, the USC Viterbi admissions blog summarizes this prompt as ”How will you make a unique contribution to the USC student body?” 

You might find some inspiration from your Why USC essay, but be sure to make each of these USC essays unique. 

Additionally, in the second Viterbi USC supplemental writing prompt, students are instructed to review key engineering challenges laid out by the National Academy of Engineering. Students then choose a specific challenge and discuss why it’s important to them. 

Structuring your essay

As you review this prompt, pay attention to the directions. Most importantly, make sure you only choose one challenge and craft a strong argument about why it matters. According to the Viterbi Admissions blog , the challenge does not have to be related to your major. Additionally, you don’t have to provide a solution to the challenge, and there is no right answer.

In each of the Viterbi USC supplemental essays, students respond to USC essay prompts that allow them to represent their most authentic selves. If you aim to study engineering or computer science at USC, these USC supplemental essays give you the chance to share your unique story and perspective. 

Does USC care about essays?

Absolutely! In fact, the more selective the institution, the more your essays might matter. Logically, highly selective schools receive many applications from students with high GPAs and test scores. Therefore, having stellar USC essays can help you stand out to the admissions committee. And, given the USC acceptance rate is just 13% , the USC essay prompts let you set yourself apart. 

In other words, admissions committees look for ways to envision you on their campuses. Indeed, they want to make sure you would enrich their community. So, your Why USC essay is one of the ways you can discuss why USC is the perfect match for you. 

USC essays are one of the ways that the admissions committee can get to know you as a person. Have you heard college admissions representatives encourage you to use “your voice” in your essay? Being authentic and introspective can allow the admissions team to learn more about you while reading your USC supplemental essays. 

What is the application deadline for USC?

Now that you know more about USC supplemental essays, let’s discuss application dates and deadlines. 

USC has two application plans: Regular Decision and Early Action. However, majors requiring a portfolio or audition are not permitted to apply Early Action or Regular Decision. Instead, they have a deadline of December 1 st . Check out this list of majors with a December 1 st deadline.  

The Early Action USC application deadline is November 1 st . The Early Action plan is non-binding and non-restrictive. Therefore, you can apply to as many colleges as you wish and there is no obligation to enroll. Early Action applicants will be notified of their results in January. The Early Action plan leaves ample time for students to review financial aid letters and visit campus before deciding on where to enroll. 

If you are not ready to submit your application in November, the Regular Decision USC application deadline is January 15 th . The Regular Decision plan is also non-binding and non-restrictive. These applicants will be notified of their admissions decision on April 1, 2024. Whether you are applying Early Action or Regular Decision, your USC supplemental essays are due on the application deadline. 

If you are already in college and are interested in transferring to USC, transfer students have a USC application deadline of January 1 st if they are already enrolled at USC and February 15 th if they are currently enrolled at another college.

Starting early

No matter what admissions plan you choose, it is critical to begin working on your USC supplemental essays well ahead of their deadline. Overall, it is never too early to begin brainstorming ideas and creating an outline. By getting organized early and not procrastinating, you can ensure you submit the strongest application possible. 

Your USC essays will also be used in your overall review for merit scholarships. But don’t forget to view the USC scholarship and financial aid deadlines! All students interested in being considered for a USC merit scholarship must apply Early Action (or by December 1 st if their major requires a portfolio or audition).

Keep reading for more resources to help with your USC essays. 

More USC Resources to explore

Are you looking for more insight on how to get into USC and craft strong USC essays? Well, CollegeAdvisor has got you covered. Now that you know more about the USC Supplemental essay requirements, check out these examples of USC supplemental essays. 

Additionally, as you are researching the USC essay prompts, don’t forget about merit scholarships and financial aid. In fact, learning about USC merit scholarships and prestigious external awards, like the Questbridge scholarship, can ease anxiety about the financial aspect of enrolling at USC.

CollegeAdvisor also hosts tons of interactive webinars to help you learn more about USC essays and admissions in general. So, get informed and watch them! Specifically, check out this Q&A webinar with former Georgetown and USC admissions officers. 

Remember that the University of Southern California is just one of many great schools in the State of California. Check out this guide to see how USC stacks up to other California colleges. 

Also, check out USC Admission’s resource videos on YouTube! The video below offers tips for approaching this year’s USC supplemental essays as well.

USC Supplemental Essays – Takeaways 

As we’ve seen in this article, USC supplemental essays are a critical part of the USC admissions application. Here’s a list of 7 takeaways to help you write strong USC supplemental essays.

7 USC Supplemental Essays Takeaways

1. usc has 11 required essays: the why usc essay and 10 short answer essays. all students, regardless of major, have this requirement., 2. your why usc essay is a great opportunity to show why you would be a great fit for usc. , 3. your short answer essays are meant to be brief and authentic. don’t overthink these , 4. depending on your major, you may have additional usc essays to submit. refer to this guide for the list of majors that have additional usc essays. , 5. the deadline for your usc essays is the same as the application deadline. so, it is incredibly important that you prepare by giving yourself ample time to write and edit your usc essays., 6. the usc office of admissions views essays as a valuable part of the application. in fact, they just might be the thing that makes you stand out., 7. be yourself these essays are structured to get a closer look at who you are. don’t shy away from this element..

Looking for more guidance on the USC essays? CollegeAdvisor is here to help. Click here to schedule a meeting with our experts today and start receiving personalized college admissions guidance.

This essay guide was written by Chelsea Holley. Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.

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How to Write the USC Supplemental Essays 2023-2024

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The University of Southern California , also known as USC, UC, or SoCal, currently educates almost 50,000 students, 21,000 of whom are undergraduates. Located in Los Angeles, CA, USC is known for its 22 schools, each of which has a unique specialization. With an impressive list of alums, from George Lucas and Shonda Rhimes to Neil Armstrong and Grant Imahara , USC launches careers in entertainment, engineering, English, and more every year. If you’re looking to maximize your chances of acceptance, continue reading as we break down USC’s supplemental essays.

Note that the specific program within USC to which you apply may have additional supplemental materials. These include short essays, short videos, and portfolios of creative work. Check out the programs here and the additional application requirements for USC here .

USC’s 2023-2024 Prompts

Long answer questions, required: describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at usc specifically. please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (250 words or fewer).

• Optional: Starting with the beginning of high school/secondary school, if you have had a gap where you were not enrolled in school during a fall or spring term, please address this gap in your educational history. You do not need to address a summer break.  (250 words or fewer)

Short Answer Questions

Describe yourself in three words. (3 words), what is your favorite snack (100 characters or fewer), best movie of all time (100 characters or fewer), dream job (100 characters or fewer), if your life had a theme song, what would it be (100 characters or fewer).

• Dream trip (100 characters or fewer)

What TV show will you binge watch next? (100 characters or fewer)

Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate (100 characters or fewer), favorite book (100 characters or fewer), if you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be (100 characters or fewer).

The USC application requires one longer essay (250 words or fewer) and ten shorter responses limited to 100 characters. (But don’t compose a 100-character answer for the questions requiring a single word!). There is also an optional longer essay question only applicable to students with some gap in their educational history other than a summer break.

This standard essay question is deceptively difficult. Most students have enough of a sense of their academic interests to list them and describe why they’re interested in them. However, this question is actually more of a research question than a personal essay question. The USC admissions officers reading your response to this question are less interested in what your academic interests are and more in how you will pursue them while a student at USC.

As a result, it’s recommended that you do some research before answering this question. Read through a list of USC’s majors and minors . Scroll around in the course catalog . Find some programs, professors, clubs, and activities at USC that relate to your academic interests. Mention these opportunities by name and describe how and why you will take advantage of them. Displaying this kind of research will demonstrate your seriousness in applying to USC and your maturity in visualizing your future.

Optional: Starting with the beginning of high school/secondary school, if you have had a gap where you were not enrolled in school during a fall or spring term, please address this gap in your educational history. You do not need to address a summer break. (250 words or fewer)

If your educational background has some kind of gap, then you should answer this question. If not, then leave this question aside.

In your 250 words, you’ll need to summarize the following pieces of information:

• why you were not enrolled for a period of time during your high school/secondary school years;
• what you did during your period of non-enrollment;
• how this experience impacted your educational experience thereafter;
• and optionally, how this experience impacted your life in general thereafter.

USC’s admissions officers review applications holistically. They don’t want to assume that any gap in educational history is a bad thing. If your period of non-enrollment did have a negative impact on your life, this essay question gives you the opportunity to provide nuance to this experience and describe how you grew from it.

These short answer questions provide space for you to express your unique personality. Feel free to inject humor into your responses or adopt a light-hearted tone. Still, authenticity is key. Admissions officers ask questions like these because they want to see who you are inside and outside of the classroom.

You might be thinking it’s a little redundant to mention that describing yourself in three words should take three words to answer, no more and no less. But you’d be surprised to learn how many students don’t take that piece of information to heart! If you have a legitimately clever idea for getting around the word restriction and providing a longer answer, then go for it. Still, bear in mind that if you answer with three unassuming words, you’re more likely to have a neutral response than a negative response. Meanwhile, if you get a little too clever with this answer, you increase the likelihood of your reader taking your response the wrong way.

If you’re having difficulty coming up with your three words, consider asking friends or family to help you out. Ask them to describe you in a word or two, ideally a noun (for example, “artist,” “dreamer,” or “nerd”) or adjective (for example, “creative,” “logical,” or “caring”). It can be hard to describe ourselves. It’s even harder to describe ourselves succinctly. Sometimes, the people who know us best can describe us better than we can ourselves.

If you already know some or all of your words without help, you may still want to run your choices by someone else. Some words have both positive and negative connotations, and ideally, your word choices are primarily positive. For example, “stubborn” can be both a positive and a negative descriptor of a person. Thus, you may want to think carefully about whether your stubbornness is portrayed elsewhere in your application in a positive light that will offset its possible negative connotations.

As always, unless you have a uniquely clever and interesting answer that goes beyond the literal meaning of the prompt, keep this answer simple. This answer shouldn’t require you to think too much; if you find yourself over-thinking, just bring it back to basics! When you get home from school and feel a bit peckish, what do most often you gravitate toward? There: that’s your answer, and another USC essay done!

This is a subjective question, but don’t feel pressured to defend your point-of-view. Just share what you think is the best movie of all time. And if you don’t have a favorite, just pick one of your favorites after rolling a die or flipping a coin. 

Note that the context of a college application is, if not formal, not so casual either. Don’t list a movie considered highly inappropriate. If you wouldn’t hypothetically be willing to defend this movie choice to a teacher, a parent, or a college admissions officer, then it’s probably not a good choice to put on a college application. You don’t have to limit yourself to G-rated movies (although if a G-rated movie is your favorite, then put it down), but you should probably avoid anything X-rated and some R-rated movies.

This short answer question, like the previous ones, does not require (and probably shouldn’t) have too much accompanying elaboration, if any. As a result, choose a job description or title which is clear to the reader. Jobs like “writer” or “teacher” are relatively general and you could boost them with concrete and specific details. Consider alternatives like “fantasy novel writer” and “middle school English teacher.”

With this question, because of the word “dream,” you don’t necessarily need to choose a “dream job” that relates to your intended course of study. You might be a pre-med applicant who dreams of being a life-saving surgeon. Or maybe you’re a marketing major who can’t sing but still dreams of becoming a rockstar. Whatever your dreams are, don’t feel embarrassed, just share them!

Like the question about what movie you think is the best of all time, this question asks you to provide the reader with some insight into the media you consume. Although it may feel natural to put your favorite song to listen to as the answer to this question, consider how/whether the song describes your life. Are the themes of the song—for instance: love, loss, ambition, fear—themes of your life? Is the tone of the song—for instance: joyful, energetic, nostalgic, chill—descriptive of the way you often feel?

Consider that the admissions officers may look up your song of choice and read the lyrics, in the case of songs which have lyrics. As a result, the song should not deal with themes which are too mature for the context of a college application. If you wouldn’t hypothetically feel comfortable writing an essay about this song for your application, an essay which quotes the song and delves into the meaning of its lyrics, then perhaps you should select a different song for your choice here.

Authenticity is still important. Some students who may struggle with their mental health feel uncertain about listing a particularly deep, raw, or emotional song as their “theme song.” If that sounds like you, consider whether the rest of your application somehow demonstrates that you are self-aware regarding your mental health struggles and/or that you have matured over the years in how you meet your struggles. Doing so will help your reader understand that you are a nuanced person, even if your song choice presents a single dimension of yourself.

Dream trip (100 characters or fewer)

In this essay question, you can dream big—consider the limits of where you could go and what you could do there. There’s no right answer to this question, but do consider how someone from the place you would like to visit might view your dream trip plan (if you provide detail about your plan, which you don’t have to). Make sure that your references to other places are respectful of those places and the people who live there, and consider researching your dream trip locale of interest before responding to this question.

Like the earlier questions about movies and songs, this question requires you to think broadly about the media you consume. Yet there’s a difference with this question: it focuses on the future. Meanwhile, the earlier questions asked about media you have already consumed.

The admissions officers ask this kind of question are curious about your personality and about your curiosities. Do you seek out procedural dramas, intrigued by the way family relationships might play out in a courtroom? Are you a sci-fi buff dreaming of new technologies and far-away galaxies? Or are you invested in the psyches of reality TV contestants seeking love? 

Like most of these questions, there’s no right answer. Admissions officers aren’t seeking to fulfill specific quotas of history documentary fans and sitcom devotees. However, like previous questions about media, consider your audience and whether your answer suits the context of a college application. Is your answer “safe for work”? 

Lastly, you can feel free to add a brief “because… ” or equivalent statement after your choice, especially if it seems to warrant explanation. Also, note that some show titles are very generic, so without further (minimal) context the reader may not know what you’re referring to. Adding a year, language, director, or something similar might provide the necessary clues so that your answer isn’t confusing.

This is a multilayered question. It requires you to not only consider a person or character whom you know and are (presumably) a fan of but also how your lifestyles would align. As a result, your answer will not just indicate what kind of media, news, or other content you consume. It will (should) also hint at how you currently live and what your ideal way of living might be.

Feel free to get creative with this answer. Maybe you want to live with the Flash because he could do the dishes really quickly, or with Bob the Builder because you could co-design your ideal DIY home. On the flipside, you could also take this question more literally and look up a famous figure known for their impressive productivity strategies and excellent sleep schedule.

This is yet another media-related question that aims to provide dimension to your personality through a window into how you spend your free time. This question, like all of these questions, is best served by an honest answer. What book do you pick up again and again? What book do you think about as you fall asleep? What book are you constantly recommending to friends?

Some students feel pressured to answer this question with a book they read in English class or some impressive-sounding academic treatise. However, admissions officers are skilled professionals who will see right through that kind of answer. If your favorite book truly is The Grapes of Wrath and you first encountered it in 10th grade Honors English, that’s an entirely legitimate answer, and don’t feel self-conscious about it. But if your favorite book is an obscure mystery novel no one’s ever heard of, or written by a highly popular author like James Patterson or Rick Riordan, that’s also totally legitimate. Not every accepted applicant to USC is going to be an English major. Nevertheless, admissions officers do expect to see students who engage with books. So if you can’t think of any books to answer this question with, get reading while you still have time!

This is a common college essay question that you may have seen on other applications. For example, Yale asks an almost identical question , with 200 characters permitted for a response, because you’re expected to explain why you would teach this class. USC doesn’t require you to explain why. The limit to a 100-character answer further drives home how brief your answer is expected to be.

Of course, if the topic you choose is extremely obscure and requires context to understand, a brief explanation could be helpful. Otherwise, just think broadly and put the course title or topic. Your answer can be anything from academic to athletic, creative to craft-based. It also doesn’t need to be a topic you know much about (yet), but instead something you’re interested in learning more about. Good luck!

If you need help polishing up your USC supplemental essays, check out our College Essay Review service. You can receive detailed feedback from Ivy League consultants in as little as 24 hours.

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University of Southern California | USC’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts

Additional info short response.

Starting with the beginning of high school/secondary school, if you have had a gap where you were not enrolled in school during a fall or spring term, please address this gap in your educational history. You do not need to address a summer break.

Dornsife Short Response

Many of us have at least one issue or passion that we care deeply about — a topic on which we would love to share our opinions and insights in hopes of sparking intense interest and continued conversation. If you had ten minutes and the attention of a million people, what would your talk be about?

Select-A-Prompt Essay

Respond to the following:

Describe yourself in three words.

What is your favorite snack?

Best movie of all time:

If your life had a theme song, what would it be?

Dream trip:

What TV show will you binge watch next?

Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate?

Favorite book:

If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?

Why This Major Short Response

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections.

Common App Personal Essay

The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don‘t feel obligated to do so.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you‘ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

What will first-time readers think of your college essay?

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How to Respond to the 2023/2024 University of Southern California Supplemental Essays

Cece Gilmore is a Content Writer at Scholarships360. Cece earned her undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University. While at ASU, she was the education editor as well as a published staff reporter at Downtown Devil. Cece was also the co-host of her own radio show on Blaze Radio ASU.

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Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College.

Maria Geiger is Director of Content at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.

With the warm Cali weather and beautiful campus, it is no surprise that students are so eager to apply to USC in Los Angeles. The USC supplemental essays are a perfect way to stand out from the rest of the USC applicants. Keep reading this guide to learn more about how to make your responses to the USC supplemental essays the best they can be!

Breaking down the USC supplemental essays

Be prepared to write, because USC asks for a lot of USC supplemental essays responses! However, this should not deter you from applying, rather, it should make you more excited! Essays offer you the opportunity to show who you are to the USC admissions officers. 

Here is a list of essays to respond to:

• 1 250 word essay
• 1 optional 250 word essay 
• 10 quick short answers
• 1 Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences essay (only for Dornsife students)
• 1 Viterbi School of Engineering 250 word essay (with 2 options to choose from only for Viterbit students)

For the list of 10 short questions, they are almost rapid fire questions with a quick and easy response to a less open-ended question. For these, just be you and have fun! 

Now that you know what to expect from the USC supplemental essays, let’s take a look at them! 

“Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (250 word limit)”

Most college applications ask you to select a major, so take this question as an opportunity to explain and elaborate on the “why.” Why do you want to major in this topic? What do you hope to do with a degree in this major? How will this major help you pursue your dreams? 

Be specific

In addition to simply mentioning your major and reason behind selecting this major, you should also touch upon any courses or extracurriculars that will help you reach your future goals.

For example, if you want to major in biology, you can talk about how you are excited to be able to take the USC BISC 469L: Marine Biology course because you have always been fascinated by marine life. 

Being specific with the course names will prove to the USC admissions officers that you have done your research. They will recognize that you are truly passionate about furthering your education in this particular field. 

Still undecided?

If you are unsure about what you want to major in, do not worry! It is a big decision to make at this point in your life. Remember, a lot of applicants are feeling the same way. Therefore, you should not share a major and talk about a passion if you are not truly certain or interested in this major. 

Rather, you should be authentic and describe why you are unsure of what you want to major in. In addition, you should then detail what academic programs or clubs you hope to become involved in to find your true passion. The most important thing to do if you are taking the undecided major route is to detail how you will take advantage of USC to discover what you are truly interested in. 

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Essay #2 – optional.

Starting with the beginning of high school/secondary school, if you have had a gap where you were not enrolled in school during a fall or spring term, please address this gap in your educational history. You do not need to address a summer break (250 words). (250 words) 

Only answer this essay if you have a gap in your education. If this does not apply to you, you do not have to answer this question. However, if it does apply to you then you should answer this question as truthfully as possible. 

Questions to consider

• Why did you choose to take a gap year or semester? 
• Did you even choose to take off? 
• What external factors affected your education? 

While this is a more serious and specific question, you can still be creative in your response. Meaning, rather than stating why, you can tell the personal  story that led you to make this decision. This can lead the USC admissions officers to empathize with your situation.

Essay 3 – short answer questions

The short answer questions ask you to answer in 100 characters or less, unless otherwise directed. This means these questions should be rapid fire responses. Do not overthink these! This is a fun section that allows the reader to get to know you and your opinions better! Just be sure to not answer a response in a way that has already been revealed in your application. 

1. Describe yourself in three words. (25 characters each)

Think about your most defining characteristics. If someone close to you had to choose 3 words to describe you, what would they say? 

2. What is your favorite snack?

Don’t think, just answer! What are you craving? Do you have a sweet tooth? If you were given the choice to pick one snack from the grocery store what would you pick? 

3. Best movie of all time

Try to think of a movie that is not typically picked to be the best movie of all time! You want your uniqueness to shine through! Be sure you are selecting a movie you have actually seen and enjoyed. 

4. Dream job

What are you working towards in college? What do you “want to be” when you graduate? You can choose to go the serious or silly route for this question. So, you could make up a job such as “Chocolate taste-tester because the decadence of creamy milk chocolate is my favorite thing on Earth.”

5. If your life had a theme song, what would it be?

This is a creative question! Therefore, try to pick a creative answer. Find a song that has meaningful lyrics that can relate to your life. 

6. Dream trip

Try to avoid cliches with this answer such as Disneyworld – remember, you are trying to stand out from the rest of USC applicants. Think of somewhere you have always wanted to visit. Be specific! Do not just mention the city, state, or country, but rather, mention the specifics. 

7. What TV show will you binge watch next?

What TV show do you love? What TV show could you watch without getting sick of it? 

8. Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate?

This question allows you to have a lot of fun, so dig deep into your imagination! Try to write a quick reason as to why they would make a good roommate. For example, maybe Harry Potter because you know he is used to sharing small quarters!

9. Favorite Book

What is your favorite book? Did a certain book change your life?

10. If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?

What are you passionate about? Do you nerd out about something? What would you love to speak to people about? You can also be creative with this answer and choose a course that does not exist! For example, the “psychology of aliens” which requires a trip to outer space! 

Also see: How to respond to the Common App prompts

Essay 4: Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences applicants only – 

Many of us have at least one issue or passion that we care deeply about — a topic on which we would love to share our opinions and insights in hopes of sparking intense interest and continued conversation. If you had ten minutes and the attention of a million people, what would your talk be about? (250 words)

The first thing that came to your mind when reading this essay- that’s what you should write about! You’ll want to select a topic that really fascinates you. You should be able to talk about this for hours and hours – not just 10 minutes. 

This is an extremely open-ended essay, so there are an infinite number of topics you could choose to write about. When deciding what to choose, remember to select something that has not already been shared on your application. 

Some ideas of things to write about for this essay: 

• A social issue 
• A lesson you have learned 
• Other cultures
• A controversial take (do not select something too controversial!) 

These are just a few examples to get your mind turning. Remember, there is a lot of freedom here, so you can pick any topic you want! Just be sure to use narratives and anecdotes to make your story shine through. After all, you want the USC admissions officers to learn why you are passionate about a topic, not just what the topic is. 

Essay 5: Viterbi School of Engineering applicants only – option 1

“ The student body at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering is a diverse group of unique engineers and computer scientists who work together to engineer a better world for all humanity. Describe how your contributions to the USC Viterbi student body may be distinct from others. Please feel free to touch on any part of your background, traits, skills, experiences, challenges, and/or personality in helping us better understand you. * (250 word limit)”

To answer this essay, you need to select a personal characteristic that distinguishes you from the other engineering students. Therefore, this trait or aspect of yourself should connect back to Viterbi and how you will make a difference in the school. Start out by brainstorming and asking yourself some questions.

• What aspect of yourself have you not mentioned so far in your USC application? 
• What are you passionate about? 
• When you have free time, what are you doing? 
• How have you prepared yourself to become an engineer? 
• Why does engineering interest you? 
• Why USC? Why USC engineering? 

Essentially, you want to write to USC detailing how you are a stand-out applicant who is different from the rest. So, narrow in on what makes you special. However, it is important for the Viterbi supplemental essay that you are also acknowledging how you will thrive in this environment because of your uniqueness. 

Essay 5: Viterbi School of Engineering applicants only – option 2

“ The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and their 14 Grand Challenges go hand-in-hand with our vision to engineer a better world for all humanity. Engineers and computer scientists are challenged to solve these problems in order to improve life on the planet. Learn more about the NAE Grand Challenges at http://engineeringchallenges.org and tell us which challenge is most important to you, and why.* (250 word limit)” 

For this response, you should be sure to read through the NAE Grand Challenges. This will provide you with valuable background information. Once you have read through all of the NAE Grand Challenges, think about the challenge you find to be the most important. The most important thing about this response is not what challenge you choose to write about. Rather, it is the way you justify your response. 

For example, you can choose “provide access to clean water,” however, you need to be creative in your justification. Start out by making a quick list of questions to ask yourself. 

• Everyone wants clean water – so how will accessing clean water affect you? 
• What would you do if you could create an invention that gives everyone access to clean water?
• Why is clean water important? 

It is critical that you are creative in your justification, no matter which challenge you deem the most important. 

Final thoughts on responding to the USC supplemental essays

We understand that the USC supplemental essays can be quite overwhelming. Therefore, just take it one essay at a time and space out writing your responses. Figure out which options most interest you and select those. 

After you write your USC supplemental essay responses, ask a trusted individual to read over your responses before you submit your application. Ask them to check for any spelling errors and also  that you have not repeated yourself at all. Remember, each USC essay is the opportunity to reveal more about yourself. 

Take a deep breath! You got this. Remember to have fun in your responses and remind yourself of what you are working towards… a great education located in sunny California! 

Next steps after applying to USC

Congratulations! It is time to submit your flawless USC application! Now that your application is submitted, be sure to check the following for any updates to your application status: 

• Your Email 
• Any USC social media accounts

Additional resources

Scholarships360 is here to help you navigate the challenging terrain of the college admissions process. Are you curious about what looks good to submit to colleges ? We have a guide for that. Wondering if you should send your SAT/ACT scores ? We have a guide for that. Confused on how many schools to apply to ? We have a guide for that too! 

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September 12, 2023

2023-2024 USC Supplemental Essay Prompts

The University of Southern California has released its supplemental essay prompts for applicants to the Class of 2028. In addition to the Personal Statement on The Common Application , USC applicants will be required to answer one 250-word essay and several 100-character short answers. If an applicant took a gap year or their education was interrupted, they’ll need to answer another essay prompt in about 250 words as well. So, what are this year’s USC supplemental essay prompts, and how should they be approached? Let’s dive in!

2023-2024 University of Southern California Essay Questions and Short Answers

Essay questions.

Applicants should respond to the first prompt in approximately 250 words. Applicants who have a gap in their high school education should respond to the second prompt in approximately 250 words as well (this essay should not be completed if there is no gap in a student’s secondary education).

1. Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections.

This is a hybrid essay prompt: Why Major and Why College . To address the first aspect of the essay question, it would be beneficial for applicants to express to USC’s admissions committee why they wish to study one or two particular disciplines at USC by sharing the origin story of their interest in these disciplines. The origin story should always stem from an applicant’s high school experience. Too often, students choose instead to share anecdotes from their middle or elementary school years.

For the second aspect of the essay question, applicants must capture genuine specifics about why USC is the ideal institution to pursue this course of study. So many applicants choose to list classes and name-drop professors in Why College essay prompts when they should instead capture the enduring specifics of a course of study at a school. These enduring specifics could focus on programs, institutes, lecture series, traditions, etc. And every sentence in this portion of the essay should be tailored to USC. If a sentence is generic, it should be stricken from the record.

2. Starting with the beginning of high school/secondary school, if you have had a gap where you were not enrolled in school during a fall or spring term, please address this gap in your educational history. You do not need to address a summer break.

This essay fits into the only if applicable category. So, if a student has no gap in their high school studies, the essay should be left blank. If, however, a student has a gap in their high school studies, they should articulate it here. And ideally, it will be filled with no excuses and only positivity.

Short Answers

With the exception of the first short answer, which should be addressed in three total words, the short answers should be addressed in 100 characters or less.

1. Describe yourself in three words. 

First Word:

Second Word:

Third Word:

USC truly wants three words for these answers. While applicants can theoretically include 100 characters, that would defy USC’s instructions. Hopefully a student’s answers will capture their love of learning and desire to leave a mark on the world in a meaningful way.

2. What is your favorite snack?

While this short answer prompt may seem silly, we encourage applicants to give thought to their answers so they don’t read as merely silly. It could be an opportunity for an applicant to teach admissions officers something they don’t know about food.

3. Best movie of all time:

Applicants shouldn’t just name the movie. They should explain why. And hopefully the movie showcases their passions and fits with how they think. Also, applicants should avoid movies that could rub USC admissions officers the wrong way.

4. Dream job:

An applicant’s answer should fit neatly with their hook that they’ve hopefully presented in their activities and their essays.

5. If your life had a theme song, what would it be?

Applicants will ideally choose a song that shows some intellectual curiosity and, just like with the movie choice, applicants should avoid choosing a song that could rub USC admissions officers the wrong way.

6. Dream trip:

Don’t be afraid to keep it local! Traveling around the world can be perceived as privileged.

7. What TV show will you binge watch next?

Applicants should approach this short answer the same way they approach the movie choice — show how they think, avoid mindless TV, and don’t choose a show that will rub admissions officers the wrong way. If a student is an environmental activist,  Our Planet  could be a good choice — so long as the applicant explains why.

8. Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate?

Applicants should dare to choose someone USC admissions officers haven’t heard of and teach them something. And don’t just name the person. Applicants should explain why they’ve chosen the roommate.

9. Favorite book:

Students should avoid choosing books that are required reading in classrooms across America, are intended for younger audiences, or have been adapted into films and television series. After all, that would not demonstrate that an applicant reads for pleasure — which is vitally important to express. And students shouldn’t only name the book. They should explain why it’s their favorite book.

10. If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?

The choice of topic should be consistent with the applicant’s hook as expressed in their activities section and, ideally, in their essays. Applicants should choose a pithy title for the course and, if there’s any room to explain what the course is about, by all means!

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with USC Essays

If you’d like to optimize your case for admission to the University of Southern California by submitting compelling essays, among other things, fill out Ivy Coach ’s free consultation form , and we’ll be in touch to outline our college admissions counseling services for applicants to the Class of 2028.

You are permitted to use www.ivycoach.com (including the content of the Blog) for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not copy, download, print, or otherwise distribute the content on our site without the prior written consent of Ivy Coach, Inc.

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How To Answer The USC Supplemental Essay Prompts For 2022/23

Located in the heart of Los Angeles, the University of Southern California (USC) is home to a large student body, incredible research advancements, and a large football stadium and culture. USC is ranked one of the best public universities in the US. It boasts a competitive admissions process with an acceptance rate of just 11%, meaning only about 1 in 9 students gets accepted.

USC Supplemental Essay Prompts

Essay 1: please respond to one of the prompts below. (250 word limit).

• USC believes that one learns best when interacting with people of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Tell us about a time you were exposed to a new idea or when your beliefs were challenged by another point of view. Please discuss the significance of the experience and its effect on you.
• USC faculty place an emphasis on interdisciplinary academic opportunities. Describe something outside of your intended academic focus about which you are interested in learning.

What is something about yourself that is essential to understanding you?

Essay 2: (250 words limit).

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections.

Essay 3 (optional)

Starting with the beginning of high school/secondary school, if you have had a gap where you were not enrolled in school during a fall or spring term, please address this gap in your educational history. You do not need to address a summer break.

Short Answers Questions

• Describe yourself in three words. First Word: (25 characters), Second Word: (25 characters), Third Word: (25 characters)
• What is your favorite snack? (100 characters)
• Best movie of all time: (100 characters)
• Dream job: (100 characters)
• If your life had a theme song, what would it be? (100 characters)
• Dream trip: (100 characters)
• What TV show will you binge watch next? (100 characters)
• Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate? (100 characters)
• Favorite book: (100 characters)
• If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be? (100 characters)

How Anushka Got Into USC with Crimson

How to Answer the Short Essay Questions

Usc believes one learns best when interacting with people of different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. tell us about a time you were exposed to a new idea or when another point of view challenged your beliefs*. please discuss the significance of the experience and its effect on you.*.

The first supplemental essay (and its three prompt options) asks you to speak from experience about a non-academic moment of growth or the formation of a particular value. While the first prompt is the only one that demands you narrate a specific experience, a solid response to any of the three prompts should describe a particular instance and unpack its implications .

In generating a topic, the experience you choose does not have to be overly serious, but the analysis should show how it speaks to your growth in a powerful way that does not feel too grandiose. USC admissions officers are looking for applicants to demonstrate their understanding that learning is not just sitting in class and pursuing academics but is also significantly impacted by personal growth and a transformation of values .

If you choose this prompt, consider the different circumstances that caused you to change your thinking about a particular issue .

• Maybe it was a passing conversation with a stranger or friend,
• an experience engaging with a social
• a civil issue in your community,
• Or even a slightly more rigorous debate or academic setting.

Whatever topic you choose, vivid language that examines how events made you feel in the moment will be essential to drawing out moments of actual growth . Remember that genuinely changing an established view is hard work, so please be honest with yourself as you look over the depth of these implications. Whether you write about how your experience attending a protest deepened your empathy for a particular cause or how a dare with your friend caused you to deactivate Facebook and rethink the role of social media in your life, try to craft a narrative story with clear consequences.

USC faculty place emphasis on interdisciplinary academic opportunities. Could you describe something outside your intended academic focus about which you are interested in learning?

Responding to the second prompt should show that your intellectual curiosity expands beyond your professional aspirations . Try to recall when you were surprised by how an experience outside your area of expertise affected you. This experience could be anything from how your experience on a safari led to an unexpected interest in endangered species preservation to finding meaning in a collection of poetry you were required to read. Your essay should construct a narrative demonstrating genuine intellectual curiosity in an area outside your prospective academic focus.

A response to the third prompt can take on a variety of topics. Whether you explain the influence of a familial structure, a hobby, an experience as part of a larger community, or even some other unusual facet of your expertise, your narrative should discuss how this influence has positively shaped you .

Again, this is not a spot for arrogant essays about accomplishments and ambition. Instead, it’s for examining a topic that will lead the admissions committee to fully understand you and how you hope to use a USC education. Ideally, the topic will be distinct from your Common App essay topic (which can be similar). It will explain an aspect of your thinking or reasoning that’s not in any other part of your application.

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Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (250 words)

The second supplemental essay question helps the admissions committee understand why you are interested in USC instead of another school . The question requires you to research USC’s specific offerings. You’ll use this knowledge, alongside language that introduces your main academic interests and their origins, to explain why USC is a perfect fit for you. Evaluators want to see a response that shows you are attracted to their school and how you have thought deeply about the particular ways USC would help you realize your academic goals.

Tip 1: set the stage by anecdotally introducing your academic interests

Talk about how your struggles with precalculus and the extra time spent working with a teacher sparked a blooming interest in mathematics or how your experience watching the nightly TV news with your family compelled you to intern for a political campaign and learn about the history of international relations.

Tip 2: Reference USC Resources

Once that framework is established, you should reference specific USC resources — classes, notable professors or researchers, proximity to specific professional opportunities, or extracurricular activities — that will help you pursue your interests most effectively.

An excellent place to start is by checking the extensive list of possible majors posted on the USC website and identifying departments that closely match your academic preferences. Then, you can go to departmental websites to identify class offerings and professors you can reference in your essay. Resources like the Undergraduate Research Program in the School of International Relations , or the chance to work with a figure you admire in a specific field, are good examples that help you realize certain career aspirations.

Tip 3: Relate USC Resources to your interests

Finally, relate the USC resources to your interests. Suppose you began by writing about watching the news. You can describe how the “Visual and Popular Culture” within the “American Popular Culture” major would help you answer questions about the power of television news you’ve had since you were young.

How to Answer the Short Answer Questions

It’s easy to try and impress examiners with your short answers. Instead, use these prompts to give the readers an authentic representation of yourself .

Tips for Option 1

The first prompt (three words that best describe yourself) is one of the hardest to answer without sounding ingenuine or fake.

First, avoid descriptors like “ambitious” or “hardworking.” There are far better forums in your application to express your academic accomplishment and drive.

Second, spend time reflecting on the elements of your experience that have forced you to learn something new. If you can identify a quality, like humor or levity, and reflect on how that affects the lens through which you approach the world, you should include this quality.

Otherwise, think about the activities you engage with most and what type of qualities they foster. Maybe your experience doing debate after school has made you “community-oriented,” or your growing interest in running live DJ sets has made you more “adaptable.” Whatever your experience, finding descriptors to reflect your experience (which you’ll write about in other parts of the application!) will help you avoid overly generic descriptions and stand out from other applicants.

Tips for preference-based prompts

For the preference-based short answer questions, you’ll want to dwell similarly on your past experiences, especially pivotal moments of growth, sidestepping the temptation to answer to impress. It may be hard to think of the most technically proficient movie you’ve ever seen. Still, it will be easy to remember movies that have significantly impacted your life or personal development.

Unless you’re an established film academic, you probably can’t humbly claim you think the best movie of all time is Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane or Godard’s Breathless. It’s more likely you feel that it’s a movie you used to watch with your family when you were sick or an accessible old classic that opened your eyes to the aesthetic possibilities of cinema in a new way. The character limits are restrictive but don’t limit yourself to one word. Begin the question with your answer, then use your remaining space to offer a brief piece of context for the preference that speaks to your background or passions.

How to Stand Out in Your USC Supplemental Essays for 2022/23

The essay components of the application are crucially important to make sure you stand out among the rest! The USC application has several essays prompts, especially short answer questions .

Knowing how to approach the supplemental questions for the USC application can take time and effort. The various questions, ranging from short-answer responses to short essays, ask a lot about your personality and academic or personal aspirations . But if you’re not careful, your answers to these prompts might appear insincere or common.

Supplemental questions give you space to demonstrate genuine passion, personality, and growth in your personal and academic life that arises directly from lived experience and suggests an apt fit for USC. Below are several strategies and ideas for each prompt designed to avoid common mistakes and stereotypical answers and create responses that can help present your authentic self to the admissions office.

How Crimson Can Help You With Your USC Supplemental Essays

Crimson takes a personal approach when helping students with their supplemental essays. Advisors get to know their students first. Then they show them how to incorporate their dreams, aspirations, goals, and any unique story aspect into their supplemental essays.

Final Thoughts

Writing supplemental essays for USC, as with any school, should attempt to present the sense of a complete, ambitious person engaged in the business of thinking about the world, one who goes beyond grades and a resume, to the admissions committee. When you write, please remember the more prominent themes of what you are trying to communicate, and rewrite or remove anything that feels extraneous or inauthentic. If you follow the tips above, you should be well on your way to generating a USC supplement that you can be proud of — best of luck!

What Makes Crimson Different

Key Resources & Further Reading

• Acing your College Application Essay: 5 Expert Tips to Make it Stand Out from the Rest
• MIT Supplemental Essay
• Harvard Supplemental Essay
• Columbia Supplemental Essay
• Princeton Supplemental Essay
• Cornell Supplemental Essay
• Brown Supplemental Essay
• Upenn Supplemental Essay
• Dartmouth Supplemental Essay
• Johns Hopkins Supplemental Essay
• University of Chicago Supplemental Essay
• NYU Supplemental Essay
• Northwestern Supplemental Essay
• How to Tackle Every Type of Supplemental Essay
• 2021-22 Essay Prompts Common App Essay Prompts
• What are the Most Unusual US College Supplemental Essay Prompts?

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University of Southern California (USC) 2020-21 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision: 

The Requirements: 2 essays of up to 250 words; 2 short-answer lists.

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Why , Oddball , Short Answer

University of Southern California 2020-21 Application Essay Questions Explained

There’s no nice way to say this: the USC application is kind of all over the place. It kicks off by asking applicants to choose one of three prompts, two of which overlap with the Common App, and it just gets stranger from there. You’ll be asked about everything from your academic interests to your life’s theme song, so our best piece of advice is, buckle up. Oh, and also remember that you should use every essay as an opportunity to showcase something different about yourself. 😉

Please respond to one of (the three) the prompts below. (250 word limit)

1. usc believes that one learns best when interacting with people of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. tell us about a time you were exposed to a new idea or when your beliefs were challenged by another point of view..

To rephrase the question: What experiences have exposed your personal blindspots? When have you been forced to admit that you were wrong? This first option may be the most challenging of the three because it requires a great deal of self-awareness and introspection. A successful essay will showcase your humility, intelligence, and adaptability. Maybe you never used to think of your teachers as people with lives outside of school until the day your family put your dog down and your English teacher offered you some words of comfort. How did your perspective change? What did you learn about the universal nature of grief? Don’t limit yourself to stories about conflict and don’t worry about being right or wrong. The most interesting essays will focus on small, personal moments that have shaped the way you see the world.

And finally, a warning: this prompt is very similar to the third prompt on the 2020-21 Common App , which asks students to reflect on a time when they challenged a belief or idea. If you chose this prompt #3 for your Common App personal statement, you might want to steer clear of this particular USC prompt in order to avoid redundancy. If you picked a different Common App prompt, feel free to refer to our prompt #3 guide for more inspiration!

2. USC faculty place an emphasis on interdisciplinary academic opportunities. Describe something outside of your intended academic focus about which you are interested in learning.

If you already have a major in mind, chances are your application is bursting with supporting evidence. So you want to be an English major? We bet you’ve served on the board of your literary magazine, entered writing competitions, and aced your Literature AP. This is your shot to show USC that you’re well-rounded! Maybe you’ve always wanted to study physics, but were intimidated by the math. Perhaps the field of astronomy has piqued your imagination as much as your academic interest. Don’t be afraid to get a little out there! The prompt never says you have to choose another academic topic, so if you’d like to go for a quirkier answer, maybe you could focus on a new skill you’d like to gain: Woodworking? Orienteering? You should avoid being weird for weird’s sake, but we encourage you to think outside the box and be genuine about your interests and passions! Make sure to explain why you haven’t yet studied the topic you propose and describe the specific reasons for your interest. Maybe a recent debate you got into with a friend sparked an interest in philosophy. On the other hand, you might just be daydreaming about what your life would be like if you could speak Japanese, where you’d go, and who you’d meet. The point is, don’t just explain why the subject is worth studying in general. Render it specific to your life and personality.

3. What is something about yourself that is essential to understanding you?

Here’s your free-for-all prompt! With a question this broad, you can write about pretty much anything as long as it tells a story about you and your life. (Sorry, that treatise on wide-legged pants will have to wait.) Our three primary pieces of advice are the same as always: (1) Pick a story rather than a fun fact. Give yourself the opportunity to really write in your own voice. (2) Use a topic that hasn’t shown up on your application before. (3) Make sure no one else could put their name on your essay.

Similar to the first USC prompt, this one also mirrors a Common App prompt, so we’d recommend nixing this option if you wrote your Common App personal statement on prompt #1. If not, hit up our Common App guide for more brainstorming tips!

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (250 word limit)

Unlike the second prompt above, this one is all about your enduring academic interests and passions, but it’s not really about you. Rather, it’s not about you alone. This is USC’s take on the classic Why essay. In asking how you plan to pursue your interests, admissions is really trying to suss out your core reasons for choosing USC. While college will offer you a wealth of social and professional opportunities, its primary function is academic — and your primary role is as a student. So, what kind of student do you hope to be? Where do you hope your studies will take you? What resources and opportunities does USC offer that will meet your needs and guide you towards your goals?

To answer these questions, set aside an hour or two to pore over the USC website (there’s no hack, you’ve just got to put in the time). Beyond the basic departmental listings, look up information about news and research coming out of your department, the kinds of courses available, the opportunities that other undergrads have had studying in your area of choice. Even if you have a wide array of interests, consider explaining how two to three departments might complement each other or foster your interest in a larger idea or theme. Your ultimate goal is to show that your interest in USC (just like your intellectual curiosity) runs deep!

Describe yourself in three words (25 characters).

When the challenge is pith, the opportunity is humor. We rarely offer an across-the-board directive to be funny because humor writing is hard — and sometimes it just simply isn’t appropriate for the story you need to tell in a longer essay. But with lists and short answers, it’s wit that will make you stand out. Your answer doesn’t need to be laugh-out-loud funny, but it should avoid the generalities that so often populate these questions: loyal, kind, smart… you get the idea. We’re sure you are all of these things — and they are lovely qualities to showcase in the stories you tell elsewhere in your essay — but these sorts of terms can ring hollow if you aren’t able to back them up with evidence. A good place to start might be to examine your contradictions (you’re mostly easy-going, until you start playing Scrabble) and craft an essay that showcases some funny irony about your personality. Think about how different people in your life would describe you, and then think about order. Can you make it read like a very short story? Can you make it rhyme? Though this assignment is short, you may need to spend some time wordsmithing different combinations. When the prescribed format is a list, order matters just as much as content, so use every element of the assignment to your advantage!

The following prompts have a 100 character limit:

What is your favorite snack, best movie of all time:, if your life had a theme song, what would it be, dream trip:, what tv show will you binge watch next, which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate, favorite book:, if you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be.

Behold! USC’s attempt at being quirky! You’ve been limited to less than the length of a tweet for each answer, so you’d better make every word (and character) count! These prompts don’t have time for generalities or gentle introductions, so you’ll have to cut straight to the point. The more specific your words are, the more memorable your answers will be. Favorite snack? Don’t just say, “popcorn and Junior Mints.” How about, “A box of junior mints melting over hot popcorn as I watch a horror movie” (72 characters). If you can paint a funny picture or display a knack for wit, take this chance, but don’t force it. You also don’t exactly have to think of this as filling in the blanks, but more as filling in any blanks in your application. Anything that doesn’t feel like it merits a full essay can go here as a tweet, hot take, punchline, or elegantly-worded sentence.

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4 University of Southern California (USC) EssaysThatWorked

Applying to USC in 2023 means that you are facing a lot of competition.

Luckily, one of the most effective tools you have to stand out from the crowd is your essays and responses to USC's writing supplement.

In this article, I've gathered 4 of the best essays from students admitted into the University of Southern California so that you can get inspired and improve your own USC essays.

What is University of Southern California's Acceptance Rate?

This past year, a record 70,971 students applied to USC and only 8,804 students were offered admission. That means USC had an overall acceptance rate of only 12.4%.

If you're trying to maximize your shot of getting into USC, writing essays that show why you should be accepted is one of your best strategies.

USC Acceptance Scattergram

The more competitive a school admissions is, the more heavily your essays are weighed. Let's check out the USC prompts for this year.

What are the University of Southern California Supplemental Prompts for 2022-23?

For its application this year, USC requires students to respond to three short essay questions and ten short answer questions.

USC has an intensive writing section, which means its even more important for you to make your responses the best they can be.

Here are the University of Southern California prompts for 2023:

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (Approximately 250 words) (1-250 words)

Starting with the beginning of high school/secondary school, if you have had a gap where you were not enrolled in school during a fall or spring term, please address this gap in your educational history. You do not need to address a summer break. (0-250 words)

Describe yourself in three words.

What is your favorite snack?

Best movie of all time:

If your life had a theme song, what would it be?

Dream trip:

What TV show will you binge watch next?

Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate?

Favorite book:

If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?

4 University of Southern California EssaysThatWorked

Here are 4 of the best USC essays that worked for this years writing supplement.

Below you can read how admitted USC students answered the short essay and short answer questions. In addition, I've included some Common App personal statements examples recently accepted students.

See exactly how students got into USC and get inspired:

USC Essay Example #1

Usc essay example #2, usc essay example #3, usc essay example #4.

Prompt: What is something about yourself that is essential to understanding you? (250 words max)

If I had a fatal flaw it would be loyalty. Of all the things I value, the one thing I value the most is my family. Coming after family is my friends; I consider my friends to be an extended branch of family. My close friends know that I value my friendship and that I would do almost anything for them if they asked me. I am very trusting with my friends, because I know that if I am there to support them, they will be there to support me. Without my friends, I would not be who and where I am now, as they have helped me through my years and shaped me to be the trusting and loyal person I am.

Very often, I put my friends before me, and this is because I know that if I were in the same situation as them, they would opt to help me. My loyalty to my friends helps them understand why I do what I do, and it helps me make even more friends. Wherever I go, I want to go with friends, because I believe that I can go farther when I have others with me rather than going fast and alone, but not as far.

The sounds of my knife striking kale unnerves my cat asleep in the corner. He quickly runs over to examine the situation but becomes instantly uninterested when he sees green and smells bitterness. Unfortunately, my family has this same reaction every day of every week.

They question, “It’s bad enough that you’re going to eat kale, but do you really have to massage it?” I respond with a deep breath, during which I recall information from nutritionfacts.org. I begin to explain, “Well you see, it takes away the bitterness, because kale is composed of cellulose, so when you massage it with a strong acid–”but as I continue to delve into my rather scientific and oftentimes molecular rationale behind transforming myself into a masseuse to make a salad, everyone begins snoring. I guess no one has ever understood my immense love for the science behind cooking (and probably never will).

Sure, my family, friends, small, undiverse and traditional high school all look at me like I am crazy, but I guess that is because I am. I do not look at kale and think “dark green, bitter, disgusting plant.” Instead, I see proteins and anticarcinogenic properties--analyzing the anatomy of food seems to occupy my mind.

Cooking is an art, visual, creative and instinctive. My favorite nights are spent with knife in hand and sweet potatoes in the oven. Food is my artist outlet, and one of the few things to feed my soul (and my stomach, too).

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Prompt: Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (250 words max)

All throughout my life, I always loved doing math no matter what the concept. My love for math led to me taking advanced math classes for my grade. I even had to take a bus to a high school when I was in middle school to take an advanced math class. I always knew that I would want to pursue a career dealing with mathematics, but I was not really sure until my junior year. I had not decided what I wanted to be in the future, so my uncle suggested being a CPA, and I looked into it. When I did my research, it interested me as they made a decent amount of money and they worked with numbers.

At USC, I would like to major in accounting and gain the opportunity to possibly receive an internship at one of the big accounting firms in Los Angeles through the networking of USC. If I were able to get an internship, I would be able to gain experience for when I graduate and search for a job. I would also consider going for a Masters of Business Administration as I know that USC has one of the best business programs in the country.

I had never considered traveling across the country to pursue an education. In fact, living in Pittsburgh all of my life and growing up with people who are so adamant about staying put, forced me to believe that I too had to box myself into this small, yet evolving city. However, now I can confidently tell my friends and family that I want to travel to California for college (and ignore their odd looks).

What strikes me most about USC is its ability to maintain uniformity despite its diverse student body--in interests, ethnicity, and opinion. There are not many schools where I could be best friends with filmmakers, artists, photographers, chemists, potential CEOs, and writers. Although all of these people are spread across different schools, they still seem to maintain a cultural unity. Being surrounded by such a distinct trojan pride combined with the ambitious atmosphere would be both inspiring and propulsive.

At USC, I would not have to confine to merely one of my interests. I have always had aspirations of becoming a doctor and pursuing neuroscience, but have never felt comfortable ignoring the humanities. As a Trojan, I could pursue research at the Dana and David Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Center or even take part in PIBBS, while also honing my writing skills through the intricate Writing Program.

Much like the students, my interests could somehow be molded into a diverse uniformity, and I could prove my fellow Pittsburghers that perhaps they need to move around more.

What Can You Learn From These USC Essays?

If you want to get into the University of Southern California, you'll need to answer the USC writing supplement questions as best you can. To help improve your essays, you can read these 6 essays that worked for USC and see how students got accepted.

Let me know, what did you think about these USC essays?

Ryan Chiang , Founder of EssaysThatWorked

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I'm Ryan Chiang and I created EssaysThatWorked - a website dedicated to helping students write college essays they're proud of. We publish the best college admissions essays from successful applicants every year to inspire and teach future students.

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People love to ask why. Why do you wear a turban? Why do you have long hair? Why are you playing a guitar with only 3 strings and watching TV at 3 A.M.—where did you get that cat? Why won’t you go back to your country, you terrorist? My answer is... uncomfortable. Many truths of the world are uncomfortable...

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Her baking is not confined to an amalgamation of sugar, butter, and flour. It's an outstretched hand, an open invitation, a makeshift bridge thrown across the divides of age and culture. Thanks to Buni, the reason I bake has evolved. What started as stress relief is now a lifeline to my heritage, a language that allows me to communicate with my family in ways my tongue cannot. By rolling dough for saratele and crushing walnuts for cornulete, my baking speaks more fluently to my Romanian heritage than my broken Romanian ever could....

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A cow gave birth and I watched. Staring from the window of our stopped car, I experienced two beginnings that day: the small bovine life and my future. Both emerged when I was only 10 years old and cruising along the twisting roads of rural Maryland...

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The Ultimate Guide to the USC Transfer Essay

USC, the Trojans. The school of competitive sports and fantastic programs all around. Whatever you call it, it’s one of the most coveted schools in California. That’s why we’re providing what we believe is the ultimate guide to the USC transfer essay.

If you want more USC sample essays that were accepted, you can find them here.

Table of Contents

USC Sample Transfer Essay That Worked

How important is the usc essay, usc transfer prompt, usc transfer essay tips, provide a statement that addresses your reasons for transferring, the objectives you hope to achieve, how to write the usc transfer essay: tying it together..

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“While I was a senior in high school, I was filled with excitement and nervousness as I applied to my dream college, the University of Southern California. Upon the news that I had not been admitted, I was saddened; however, I realized that it simply was not meant to be at the time. It was a blessing in disguise. I am grateful for the extra two years I was given in order to spend time with my parents and having the luxury of being near other close relatives. Having grown up in the same town my whole life, I also enjoyed the company of my childhood friends and re-visited my past schools to keep the connections with my grade school teachers that have shaped me into who I am today. I have been humbled by the experience of attending a community college and have built life-long relationships. In addition to all this, the extra two years has done everything to prepare me for the adventure of transferring. Not everyone is given a second chance to achieve their dreams and I have spent the last two years investing my best effort into school in order to make my goal of transferring to the University of Southern California a reality. In the Chinese calendar, I was born the year of the dragon. Dragons are a symbol of strength and I have reflected this trait in my life by overcoming discouragement and striving with increased determination. My perspective shifted from being focused on what I felt I was missing out on until I decided to enjoy what was in front of me. Becoming involved with the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society as an officer and committee leader has helped me tremendously by providing friendships and being proactive with my greatest interest, using my love of art to benefit others. One of my objectives after I transfer is to continue being involved with school organizations that strive to leave a positive impact on others. I accomplished a vast amount of personal growth that has prepared me to branch out and discover what awaits. Dragons are also a thematic element incorporated in my artwork. As an artist, I am transferring because I am determined to achieve a Bachelor of Fine Arts in order to pursue my artistic interests. While attending a junior college, my yearn to learn has only grown. I have a passion for creating works of art that inspire thought, understanding, and exploration. I will use the opportunities available at USC to push my talent beyond my imagination. Attending the University of Southern California is an unsurpassable opportunity due to the expertise, connections, and location. I am grateful to have the opportunity to take advantage of the great resources and exposure available at USC to set the tone for my artistic career. In my future, I plan to find success as an artist prior to becoming an art professor. This career choice requires what USC offers: a strong foundation of art skills and knowledge that will allow me to further develop and flourish as well as successful faculty that I will learn from to guide my future endeavors.”  Anonymous –Accepted Into USC.

“But aren’t scores like GPA more important for the USC application process?” “Hasn’t it always been this way for every school?” 

Well, that only applies to certain schools. Schools that are highly competitive follow what is called “holistic admissions” this means that they run through applications with a fine-tooth comb in order to pick out the best candidates. The reason competitive schools do this is that most if not all applicants applying are, well, competitive. When there’s no other variable of differentiation because every student is the quintessential “straight-A student”, then the importance of the admissions essay expands.

Think of it as inflation of grades: if everyone has perfect grades, the value decreases and the admissions essay takes over as the paramount value structure in accepting students. 

Afraid that your transfer admissions essay won’t be good enough to beat the competition? Well, here’s our advice on how to approach the essay properly. 

“Please provide a statement that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve.” (650 WORD) — University of Southern California, Transfer Admissions

This prompt is separated into two different categories. Therefore, you will be in some ways writing two different essays in one. One, there are the reasons for transferring; and two, there are the objectives. 

The next two sections will be dedicated to showing you how to tackle these parts of the USC transfer essay question as well as possible. But before we get to that, here are a few key things to keep in mind while writing your transfer essay. 

• Use a Grammar Checker so your essay doesn’t look sloppy. 
• Demonstrate that you care for the school you’re transferring to
• Avoid sounding boring by using strong imagery
• Keep the admissions officer’s attention with a strong introduction and hook. (more on this in our sister article)
• Avoid Cliches
• Follow the quintessential versatility rule ( more on this in our sister article )
• Keep your words concise by removing filler words to fit the maximum 650 words.

If you’ve any other burning questions about how to write essays college essays well in general, check out our other articles. (Or, if you don’t want to sift through all of them, simply give us a call or contact us through email! We’ll respond as soon as we can)

The key to answering this section is to make sure that you actually have a good reason for transferring. You’re no longer a lost high school student anymore; you’re about two years away from being a true adult! That means taking care of yourself, and, most of all, aware of what it is you really want for your future. 

“But wait a minute, doesn’t everyone have a hard time knowing what they want out of life in the future?”

Not everyone, but many. Many people have yet to form their dreams even after university and after getting their first job. You’re not everyone, though. You’re you: an applicant to one of the greatest schools in California and arguably the nation. You need to show that you are mature enough to have your plans mapped out; this will help you stand out. 

“Okay, but knowing the reasons for transferring can be hard. How do I know what those reasons are exactly?”

Well, that’s the beauty of persuasive writing. You don’t have to say everything.  In fact, you don’t have to have many reasons for transferring. You just need one or two reasons that are sufficient enough to justify your application. 

Ask yourself: “What reasons make it worth it for me to apply to USC as a transfer from my original school?” Typically this means that USC has something that can provide for either your personal development or your career, or both. 

Here’s an example. 

• Reason 1: Transferring because you want to expand on a business idea or existing business by learning from USC’s strong business program. 
• Reason 2: Knowing that you can connect well with the community in USC because you’ve fallen in love with the Southern California culture after having seen how unenthusiastic and slow the rest of the world seemed. 

These reasons are good reasons that justify your application to a prestigious school. You don’t have to have a story about how both your mother and sister died from a lightning bolt to have an interesting story to talk about.  

It’s very common for applicants to get stuck in thinking about their reasons for applying to a school other than, “getting good grades and making good money.” Chances are, if you can’t think past that level then you simply haven’t given it enough thought yet. 

Of course, you could also just have a hard time fabricating reasons for goals, which is understandable! If you have a hard time coming up with information, don’t just start writing about something random. You MUST have good reasons that are meaningful because that’s what makes a fitting applicant. Please speak to us if you can’t think of anything; we’d be happy to help in any way we can!  

As for the objectives that you hope to achieve, this connects with the previous question in the USC transfer essay prompt. Once you have a reason for applying, you should have a good idea of what the objectives are. 

In fact, we would say that it actually makes more sense to work this backward. First, think about what objectives you hope to achieve, then your reasons for applying as a transfer to USC. 

This is typically the natural stream of thought that would take place when answering this question, or simply planning for the future. “What do you really want for your future and how does applying for USC make this work?”

If your objectives don’t at least in some ways correlate with the reasons why you want to apply for USC as a transfer student, your application can sound a bit awkward. Saying that your reasons are to challenge yourself in a field you’re passionate about won’t help if you claim that your future goals involve doing something in a completely different field. It won’t really make much sense to admissions officers. 

You need your reasons and your objectives to correlate with each other in order for admissions officers to not only understand you but also to not think you’re “wishy-washy” or apathetic about your future. 

You could also think of it like this: You have a set of dreams and goals that you would like to achieve. Achieving this dream is easier if you apply for USC and capitalize on their benefits.

Here’s an example of how this would play out.  

• Objective 1: You want to learn how to expand your small business in selling affiliate products online through a string of websites. You’ve always had a passion for this and it made sense to go to a great school that can show you how to expand on said business. 
• Objective 2: You find that you don’t know very many like-minded people with the same passion and drive for business growth in your area. You find the 9-5 grind boring and, as such, you seek more entrepreneur-friendly places like Southern California to feel a sense of community and belonging. 

Great. You’ve got your objectives for the future sorted out as much as you can and you have a few good reasons to apply for UC as a transfer student to achieve said objectives. Now it’s time to merge them together.  The formula for the essay may therefore look a bit something like this: 

Intro paragraph

• Start with a good hook. You may talk about your dreams / objectives you would like to achieve. 
• Make sure not to start the hook about how much you want to attend USC, though. This is a cliche and, more importantly, does not highlight what makes YOU special and only highlights what makes USC special. (which the admissions officers already know.)
• You can make the introduction paragraph about anything in general, but it just needs to be interesting and transition into the body paragraphs without losing the admissions officer’s attention. This is best done by writing about the dreams and objectives. We recommend also to do the intro paragraph last, as it is the most difficult part to come up with ideas for. 

Body paragraph 1

• Talk about your objectives that you would like to achieve. 
• A good way of manifesting your dreams in your mind is to simply be more thoughtful about what you really want. More often than not, a better response than “I want to be a doctor” is something more wide and open such as “I aspire to dedicate what time I have left of my years doing what is most fulfilling to me: to save lives that are at risk.”

Body paragraph 2

• Talk a little bit more in depth about said objectives. 
• You may elaborate with how you came about this objective and why it means so much to you. What was the spark that made you want to commit to this objective? Why do you care so much that it would speak to your very being? 

Body paragraph 3

• Talk about your reason for applying to USC. 
• It is paramount that in this section onward that you don’t allow for your writing to fall flat. Many writers tend to use all their abilities of good imagery in the intro and first few paragraphs only for them to run out of steam at the last parts. Don’t do that. 

Body paragraph 4

• Talk about your next reason for applying to USC.
• If you only have one reason, you may disregard this. You may also use this paragraph to talk about the ways in which applying to USC will help fulfill your objectives and use that as a reason. 

Conclusion 

There you have it! A better approach to the USC transfer admissions essay. You’re at least more prepared now to tackle your dreams of becoming a trojan! Remember: the competition of entering USC as an undergraduate is fierce, and as a transfer even more so. 

Your GPA, extracurriculars, awards, and work experience are not the only vital thing being reviewed. You’re facing holistic admissions, so remember to keep your pen (or keyboard) sharp and your brain sharper. 

Have further questions about our essay guide? Concerned whether your essay-writing abilities will save you from low grades and test scores? You might want to consider talking to a college admissions counselor for advice and help. Here at PenningPapers, we provide you with free consultations to ensure that you don’t regret pressing that “submit” button. 

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Transfer Students

Admission decision timeline for transfer applicants.

Admission decisions or a request for more information, such as spring-term grades, will be posted by May 31. If spring grades are requested, a decision may not be available until mid-July.

Admission letters and certificates will be mailed following the release of admission decisions online.

A World of Opportunity

As a transfer student at usc, you will enjoy unparalleled opportunities in and outside the classroom. from access to world-class faculty and the ability to conduct your own original research, to acquiring real-world experience through service learning and internship programs, the possibilities are endless. transfer admission to usc remains highly competitive, and we look for students with outstanding talents and leadership skills. fight on.

Essential Information

Successful transfer applicants:.

• Present at least one year of rigorous, full-time academic coursework, with strong grades. Check out our Transfer Student Profile to see the average GPA of our most recent class of admitted transfer students.
• Show consistent progress toward a degree with at least one year of rigorous, full-time academic coursework. Competitive candidates typically take 14-16 units per term.
• Complete the equivalent of USC’s lower-division Writing requirement, Writing 130.
• Meet our minimum math requirement by demonstrating a mastery of Algebra II in high school, or Intermediate Algebra in college with a grade of C or better. Many majors require more math.
• Make satisfactory progress toward meeting USC General Education requirements.
• Complete additional lower-division courses required by their intended major, if applicable. Refer to Additional Coursework by Major to see if your intended major requires lower-division courses that should be completed before you transfer. This is especially important for students pursuing degrees in science, engineering, architecture, dental hygiene or business.
• International students whose native language is not English must also demonstrate English-language proficiency .

When to Transfer

USC accepts both sophomore and junior transfer students. By transferring as early as your sophomore year, you can take more of your General Education and elective courses at USC. You will be part of the USC community for a longer time and have more opportunities to get involved with campus life and make the connections that can help you after graduation.

Alternately, if your academic record in high school fell short of USC expectations, you may be able to position yourself as a stronger candidate if you complete two years of solid undergraduate coursework at another institution before applying to transfer. Additionally, if you complete most of your General Education requirements before transferring, you will have more time to pursue a double major, a major-minor combination, or a unit-heavy major while you are enrolled at USC.

Current high school students, please note: If you are still in high school, USC considers you a first-year applicant, regardless of the number of college units completed prior to high school graduation. If you have questions about your class standing, please call the USC Office of Admission at (213) 740-1111 .

Transfer Units

USC does not require a minimum number of transfer units.* However, if you will have earned fewer than 30 transferable semester units by the end of the spring term, we will base our decision either primarily on your high school record and/or SAT or ACT scores (if you submit them). Please note that applicants to the 2023-2024 academic year are not required to submit SAT or ACT scores, although they may still submit them if they wish.

*The School of Cinematic Arts, however, does require 48 units to transfer into the Film and Television Production program.

College Transcripts

You must submit official college transcripts from any and all colleges you have attended, regardless of whether or not all coursework or degree requirements were completed. Failure to do so may be viewed as a violation of academic integrity, which could result in revocation of admission and/or dismissal from the university.

Selecting a Major

Transfer applicants must indicate a first-choice major on the application. We also consider transfer students for an optional second-choice major or Undecided/Exploratory status.

English Proficiency Requirement

International transfer applicants whose native language is not English must submit a TOEFL, IELTS, PTE Academic or qualifying SAT or ACT test score earned within two years of their application date. More information is available on our International Students page.

Remedial Coursework

Placement exams offered at your current college will determine your need for any remedial coursework in writing and mathematics prior to your admission to USC. Remedial courses are not transferable.

Required Courses Taken on a Pass/No Pass Basis

As many as 24 semester units, including up to 4 units of General Education courses, may be taken on a Pass/No Pass basis. Typically, only one Core Literacy course may be taken on a Pass/No Pass basis.* Both Global Perspectives courses may be taken on a Pass/No Pass basis. Please note that writing courses taken on a Pass/No Pass basis will not fulfill USC’s lower-division writing requirement.

*Due to disruptions caused by COVID-19, some exceptions may apply.

Dates and Deadlines

You are considered a transfer applicant if you have enrolled in college since leaving high school.

For some majors requiring a portfolio or audition: Application Deadline: December 1, 2023

December 1 is the final deadline for transfer students applying to the following programs:

Kaufman School of Dance School of Cinematic Arts – BFA programs only School of Dramatic Arts – BFA programs only Thornton School of Music

See Additional Major Requirements for information about your intended program.

All other majors Application Deadline: February 15, 2024

Extensions of application deadlines are considered on a case-by-case basis. Students who are unable to meet the published deadlines may contact an admission counselor to be considered for an extension.

Financial Aid Priority Application Deadline: March 4, 2024

Applicants who want to be considered for need-based financial aid must submit the FAFSA * and CSS Profile applications by this date.

California residents should also apply for Cal Grants by this date.

*Undocumented or DACA students should submit their 2022 tax return and third-party letter confirming undocumented status instead of the FAFSA.

Visit our Financial Aid page for more information. To check on the status of your financial aid application, visit the FAST page in your applicant portal .

Regular Decision Notification: May 31

Transfer candidates will receive either an admission decision or a request for spring grades by May 31. If you receive a request for spring grades, you will be notified of an admission decision by mid-July.

Application Checklist

Complete the Common Application

Official final high school transcripts showing date of graduation. Students who completed secondary school outside the U.S. may substitute a copy of a diploma or leaving certificate. Students who did not finish high school should submit transcripts showing any grades they received before leaving, as well as a copy of their completion certificate (such as a GED). These students may also submit a letter of explanation.

Official college transcripts from any and all colleges you attended (regardless of whether coursework or degree requirements were completed).

We need to review your most recent fall-term grades, so be sure your current school has posted them before transcripts are sent. If your school requires an email address to send electronic transcripts, please use [email protected] . This email address should only be used by schools; students should not personally send copies of their transcripts to this address.

Not required unless specifically requested by your intended academic department or major.

Portfolio, resumé and/or additional writing samples, if required by major. Performance majors may also require auditions. Refer to the Additional Application Requirements section , below, for more information.

Affirmations will be available in the portal after we receive your application. Your digital signature may be submitted after the application deadline.

If the application fee poses a financial burden, you may request a fee waiver through the Profile section of the Common Application.

Additional Application Requirements

If you are applying to any major in any of the schools listed below, it is your responsibility to complete your application by the appropriate deadline. Unless otherwise noted, all deadlines are the same as those listed on the Dates and Deadlines section. Be sure to obtain any required supplementary forms and to fulfill all departmental requirements.

Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

USC School of Architecture

Roski School of Art and Design

Iovine and Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation

Marshall School of Business

USC School of Cinematic Arts

Kaufman School of Dance

USC School of Dramatic Arts

Viterbi School of Engineering

Thornton School of Music

Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Veterans are encouraged to take advantage of an array of services including academic and career counseling, financial aid and veteran benefits information, religious life and more. For more information, visit the USC Veterans Resource Center .

Application fee waivers are available to veterans and their dependents. To request this fee waiver, select the appropriate option under the school-specific fee waiver question, located in the USC Questions section of the Common Application.

Credits & Policies

Units that must be earned at usc.

Transfer students must complete a minimum of 64 units in residence at USC, or half the units typically required for graduation. A few exceptions are noted below. While in residence at USC, you are also expected to:

• Complete all upper-division units in your major and minor.
• Complete WRIT 340, a minimum of two Core Literacy GE courses from a Dornsife College department, and any remaining General Education courses not taken before entering USC.
• Take all your fall- and spring-semester courses for credit at USC. Courses may be taken at other institutions only during summer sessions, with limitations.

Exceptions:

Engineering “3-2” Program: Students must complete a minimum of 48 units in residence at USC. Two-thirds of any transferable coursework must be completed at one of USC’s four-year partner institutions.

Bachelor of Architecture: Students must earn at least 80 units at USC. A maximum of 70 of the transferable units for this program may be earned elsewhere.

Transfer Unit Limits

• USC limits the transfer of credit in certain categories. You may transfer up to: Sixty-four (64) units of credit from other institutions, except where noted.
• Four (4) units each of English as a Second Language, physical education activity courses and music ensemble courses.
• Eight (8) units of dance.
• Twelve (12) units of physical education theory courses.
• Sixteen (16) units of individual instruction in music.
• Other studio and performing arts classes are also limited. Check with an advisor.

Courses/Units That Will Transfer

Accredited courses: Coursework completed at, or degrees from, U.S. institutions accredited by the six regional accrediting agencies are generally accepted. Coursework completed at international post-secondary institutions approved by the local Ministry of Education as degree-granting institutions may also transfer.

Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and other standardized examinations: We accept a maximum of 32 units for standardized examinations.

Please visit arr.usc.edu/transfercredit for a list of standardized exams and the course requirements they fulfill.

College courses taken during high school: We accept a maximum of 16 units, included in the 32-unit combined maximum for AP/IB credits. These courses must be taught by college faculty on a college campus, appear on your college transcript as part of the regular college curriculum and must not be applied to your high school diploma. They can fulfill General Education requirements, but they cannot fulfill the writing or foreign language requirements nor receive equivalence to USC courses.

Courses/Units That May Transfer

Courses in these categories will be considered by petition, and credit is granted on a case-by-case basis. Be sure to keep copies of course syllabi, exams and papers, as we may ask for these in making our determination. Nontraditional formats/time frames: Distance-learning, online courses, concentrated “intensive” sessions, special weekend modules, and other nontraditional course formats and time frames.

Please note that elective units only — not equivalence to USC courses or fulfillment of requirements — are granted for foreign language and laboratory science courses taught via distance learning, TV, or in an online or correspondence course.

Due to disruptions caused by COVID-19, some exceptions may apply.

Courses/Units That Will Not Transfer

Unaccredited institutions: Coursework or degrees completed at U.S. institutions not accredited by a regional accrediting agency. Low grades: Courses in which your grade was less than C– (1.7).

No degree credit: College extension courses and courses taken at international institutions not credited toward a degree at that college.

Areas of study not offered by USC: These include agriculture, business office procedures, hotel management, food services, industrial mechanics, interior design, fire science, forestry, police academy, and similar professional and technical programs.

Duplicated material: An AP exam and IB exam or college course covering the same material.

Life and work experience: Including portfolio work, continuing education, equivalency examination units, and courses offered by business and governmental agencies (even if evaluated by the American Council on Education).

Placement exams: Courses and/ or unit credits awarded by another institution for placement examinations or credit by exam.

Remedial/college preparatory/ personal development: Including mathematics courses below the level of college-level algebra. (Intermediate Algebra, USC’s minimum math requirement for admission, is not transferable.)

Nontraditional formats at two-year colleges: Including independent study, directed study, correspondence courses, internships and travel courses.

Graduate-level courses: Graduate-level coursework taken by undergraduate students.

Determining Your Transfer GPA

USC calculates your transfer GPA on the basis of your grades in all USC-transferable courses, including grades of D and below. Plus and minus grading is taken into account. Expired incompletes, unofficial withdrawals and missing grades are treated as an “F.” Credit/No Credit and Pass/No Pass marks are not included in the transfer GPA.USC does not honor other colleges’ academic “renewal” or “forgiveness” programs that permit students to improve a substandard grade. If you repeat a transferable course for which you earned a grade of D+ or lower, both grades will be included in your transfer GPA. If the grade on the first course was a C- or higher, only the first grade is included.

Your transfer GPA is different from the GPA earned in courses you take at USC. The transfer GPA and your USC GPA are kept separate until it is time to determine if you are eligible to graduate and earn graduation honors, as described in the USC Catalogue .

Academic Standards and Requirements

The USC Catalogue is the document of authority on policy matters, and it changes from time to time. It provides complete information about academic standards governing coursework taken at other colleges, as well as specific requirements for your major field. Please visit catalogue.usc.edu for the most current version.

Students who began college in fall 2015 or after: Students are required to follow these revised General Education requirements if they graduated high school in spring or summer 2015 and their first full-time term of college enrollment was fall 2015 or after (excluding summers).

Students who began college prior to fall 2015: Students who started at any college or university before summer 2015 will follow the GE program in effect prior to fall 2015.

Transfer Tools

Transfer planning brochure.

This brochure will help you navigate the application and transfer process, and introduce you to our transfer policies. View the Transfer Planning Brochure .

Interactive Planning Guide

This online resource will help you determine which undergraduate courses at other institutions will satisfy USC’s General Education courses, as well as the lower-division coursework required for any major. Go to the Interactive Planning Guide .

Transfer Planning Worksheet

This worksheet will help you keep track of the transferable courses you have completed and what courses are still in progress. Download the Transfer Planning Worksheet .

Students who began full-time, college-level work prior to fall 2015 (excluding summer semesters) will need to follow the pre-2015 General Education requirements .

Attend a Transfer Information Session

In this session , an admission counselor will discuss how credits transfer to USC and how to present a competitive transfer application.

Additional Coursework by Major

Find the lower-division, introductory coursework that may be recommended or required for your intended major. Download the Additional Coursework by Major file.

Articulation Agreements: Community Colleges

These lists indicate the community college courses that fulfill General Education and other requirements, as well as equivalents to lower-division courses at USC. Visit Articulation Agreements with Community Colleges.

Articulation Histories with Local Four-Year Colleges

Though USC does not maintain formal articulation agreements with four-year colleges, this resource will help you determine which courses have been accepted for transfer in the past. Courses not included on the history have not yet been reviewed and may or may not transfer. Most academic courses from four-year institutions are accepted for transfer credit. View Articulation Histories .

DACA Students

For information about application for DACA students, please refer to  this page .

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A Hippocratic oath for teachers

As USC Rossier prepares to celebrate the Class of 2024, professor Nooshan Ashtari shares words of wisdom with future educators. 

During the last class of each semester, after my students wrap up their coursework and we look back on our time together throughout the term, I cannot help but be in awe of all that my wonderful students have accomplished. I also cannot help but wonder what their futures may hold for them. Some might end up teaching for decades, some might teach for a few years or even months, and then switch to other careers as the human-made world keeps on putting immense amounts of pressure on some of the most essential treasures: teachers and the art of teaching and learning. 

As I take one of the last looks at my students before we end the term, I take a deep breath and try to imagine all of their professional futures to be fulfilling and fruitful. I have taught internationally for over 22 years, the last 14 years of which in higher education and teacher training. My career as an educator and researcher has been full of ups and downs, tears and laughter, and I hope my students’ careers will be more upward thrills than downward horrors. 

Over the years, I have seen family members and friends take the Hippocratic oath at their graduation ceremonies in countries around the world, and I have always appreciated it deeply. Inspired by Hippocrates and his writings, the Hippocratic oath is an oath of ethics new physicians take. It requires physicians to swear to uphold ethical standards in the highest regard while treating patients throughout their careers. After searching for something to mark each course’s end and acknowledge the future journey teachers are about to embark on, I developed “The Hippocratic oath for current and future teachers.” 

Before I say goodbye to my students, I share this oath, which I have adapted from various versions of the modern Hippocratic oath:

After the students and I finish looking over the lines, we sometimes reflect on what our paths have been like up to this point and the possibilities for our futures. We share contact information that is not solely connected with one university or institution to make sure we stay in touch, even when life might take us in different directions. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote in The Little Prince in a conversation between a young, wandering prince from a small asteroid called B-612 and a flower with three petals that the prince meets in a desert, humans are always in transition, “But you never know where to find them. The wind blows them away. They have no roots, which hampers them a good deal.” 

Sometimes, I hear back from some of my students years or even decades later; sometimes I don’t hear from them at all, but one thing that remains the same for all of us is our belief that teaching is truly a work of heart and learning is an inseparable part of the human experience. May the path of teaching be remarkable for all of our current and future teachers, and may the path of learning be limitless for all of us residents of planet Earth and beyond.  

• Nooshan Ashtari

Article Type

Article topics.

• Teacher education
• Commencement

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Biden Announces New Student Loan Forgiveness Plan Details. Here’s What to Know

T he Biden Administration will announce some new details of its proposed student loan forgiveness plan Monday, which if implemented, could bring forgiveness for a combined 30 million people this fall.

"These historic steps reflect President Biden’s determination that we cannot allow student debt to leave students worse off than before they went to college,” said U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal. “The President directed us to complete these programs as quickly as possible, and we are going to do just that.”

The Administration is currently pursuing debt relief through the negotiated rulemaking process under the Higher Education Act. Last June, the Supreme Court rejected Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan that would have erased a whopping $400 million in student loan debt for 42 million people. This proposed plan could still face legal challenges. 

The new plan, however, would eliminate accrued interest on loans for 23 million borrowers, cancel the full amount of student loan debt of some 4 million others, and give another 10 million borrowers at least $5,000 or more in relief. 

“President Biden will use every tool available to cancel student loan debt for as many borrowers as possible, no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stand in his way,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press call on Sunday.

President Biden traveled to Madison, Wis. to share the news.  

The Administration's previous efforts for forgiveness included making changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF) and income-driven repayment plans that have led to $146 billion in loan forgiveness.

Read more: Unable to Pay Your Student Loans? It Won’t Affect Your Taxes Yet

Negotiators first gathered last October to start the rule-making process, which goes through multiple rounds of comment and discussion before they are finalized. The final proposed debt relief rules will be released for public comment in the next few months, after which consensus must be reached among negotiators to finalize the new regulatory language. 

Here’s what to know about the new student loan forgiveness plan. 

Cancel accrued and capitalized interest 

More than 25 million Americans owe more than what they originally borrowed because of  interest rates on their student loans. 

The Biden Administration plans on addressing this by canceling $20,000 in unpaid interest on a borrower’s balance regardless of their income. Borrowers in the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE plan—single borrowers who make $120,000 or less—would be eligible for broader forgiveness. That means that the “entire amount their balance has grown since entering repayment” would be canceled, according to a fact sheet provided by the White House.

Read more: How to Know If You’re Eligible for Biden’s SAVE Student Loan Repayment Plan

If the plan is approved, borrowers would not need to apply for relief to see changes on their account. 

Automatic debt cancellation for borrowers eligible for relief  

Under the proposed plan, the Administration would automatically forgive debt for borrowers who are eligible for cancellation, but have not enrolled in programs like SAVE, or PSLF. The action would cancel debt for some 2 million Americans, the Administration said. 

Cancel debt for borrowers who began paying two decades ago  

The Administration would cancel student loan debt for borrowers with undergraduate debt who entered repayment 20 or more years ago. Americans with graduate school debt would have to have entered repayment 25 or more years ago to be eligible for forgiveness. 

Borrowers do not need to be enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan to be eligible for this type of forgiveness.

Read more: Your Company Could Match Your Student Loan Payments to Your 401(k). Here’s How That Will Work

Cancel debt for borrowers who are facing hardship or were enrolled in low-financial-value programs

The Administration says it will include a plan to provide relief for borrowers who are at high risk of default, or burdened by medical expenses or childcare, as part of its plan. 

It will also provide relief for those who went to colleges or universities that did not provide students with “sufficient financial value.”

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Letter from the CIO

Rob Groome is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at USC Institute for Creative Technologies, overseeing both the Information Technology and Facilities teams. Previously, Groome was the Head of IT and Information Security Officer at BlueOcean, the brandtech AI-powered decision intelligence company, headquartered in San Francisco. Here he talks about joining ICT in 2000, staying for 16 years – and then returning in 2023, after working on main campus, and taking a detour into entrepreneurship – as our first ever CIO. 

ICT has seen major changes since its inception in 1999.  Originally housed in 2 ½ floors in a building in Marina del Rey, it eventually occupied the entire space. The original “annex” on Redwood Drive which moved to McConnell Ave. Then to our current HQ in Playa Vista.  

By 2009, ICT was bulging at the seams and needed to look for a new home.  Enter Waterfront Drive, ICT’s current home and one of the greatest achievements of my career.  

When the idea of a new “campus” came about, we set out to build something incredible that would help change the course of the research, support the growth, and showcase what a truly amazing place ICT is. My involvement with making ICT’s new space a reality was all encompassing.  From architecting the network, identifying the requirements for power, or designing a place to showcase the work that our incredible researchers do, we all tried to get it right.  

How I Came to ICT

I came to ICT in a very different manner than most. In 2001. After a layoff, and caring for my infant daughter, a friend (who had just interviewed at ICT), suggested I apply for the role of the IT Manager (because I was a better fit than they). 

Intrigued, I delved into ICT’s groundbreaking work and was determined to join. Fast forward to the interview – and I was captivated. 

In Nov 2001, I joined ICT and stayed for 16+ remarkable years. From the groundbreaking VR Theater that housed the Mission Rehearsal Exercise and those famous words: “What happened here?” “There was an accident Sir,” to the amazing work with The Shoah Foundation to preserve the stories of holocaust survivors – there has never been a dull moment.  

Projects and Research

Over 25 years, ICT has achieved remarkable milestones and done groundbreaking research. 

Two projects particularly resonate to me: witnessing firsthand the life-saving impact of our training systems at Camp Pendleton, and contributing to the New Dimensions in Testimony project. 

The incident at Camp Pendleton served as a powerful reminder of my purpose, my “why”. While observing a squad undergoing training with the Mobile Counter IED Trainer (MCIT), I witnessed some soldiers not taking the exercise seriously. Their commanding officer intervened sternly, declaring, “You think this is (deleted expletive) funny?! This training system has saved my life and is why I am still here today! Pay attention to this, do you understand me?”

Immediately, the soldiers adjusted their demeanor, responding with a crisp “Yes, Sir,” and resumed training. Later, the officer approached me, inquiring about my presence. I explained that I was from ICT, installing another training system. He then expressed gratitude, remarking: 

“I hope you realize how impactful this really is. Thank you for your help in keeping us safe.” 

This encounter left a profound impression on me, highlighting the importance of our work even for those of us less directly engaged with our customer base.

The second project that I was very involved with was the New Dimensions in Testimony project, a collaboration with ICT and the Shoah Foundation to capture the stories of holocaust survivors before they were lost forever.  While working with one of the survivors, the Shoah Foundation team asked me if I would like my kids to come interview one of the survivors. I asked my kids, 12 and 9 at the time, if they would like to do it and they said yes, absolutely, but can we read about who we are going to interview?  

They took the time to really understand who the subject of the interview that day, what he went through, and how he made it through.  When the time came to do the interview, I couldn’t have been more impressed with my kids, and everyone involved.

It’s a memory I will never forget.  

Leaving ICT – and Returning

In 2018, I left ICT to take on new challenges and gain different experiences. I moved over to the Office of the CISO at USC before venturing into the realm of entrepreneurship, where I played a pivotal role in building a company from the ground up. 

However, in August 2023, as I found myself contemplating my next steps, ICT reached out to me. Over a memorable lunch with Cheryl Birch and Bill Swartout , they proposed the idea of my return. Instantly intrigued, I eagerly sought more details about the opportunity and the institute’s needs. By the time I left the meeting and returned home, I was already envisioning my comeback and planning my role. 

When I shared the opportunity with my family, their unanimous response was, “This just feels right.” Indeed, it resonated with me too. I’m immensely proud to be back at ICT, now leading the Information Technology and Facilities teams, and eager to contribute to its continued success.

Returning to ICT fills me with pride, having been part of its journey for much of its initial 25 years – especially when I think about the challenges we are now addressing, in terms of cybersecurity, upgrading the built environment, and celebrating our 25th anniversary this August. 

ICT has always been at the forefront of the evolution in the way that technology, security, research, and academia have had to learn to interact and work together. In the early 2000s, a culture of transparency, collaboration, and openness prevailed.  As cybercrime became more prevalent and the DoD was more and more of a target, more stringent security requirements began to surface for any government contractors.  The balance of sharing and collaboration became more difficult with the requirements to control, identify, and protect and ICT was at the heart of it because of our contracts.  

Now, as we embark on the next 25, our focus remains on staying ahead of trends, breaking new ground, and empowering our research teams to push boundaries and lead in the ever-expanding technological landscape. Technology is evolving rapidly, and our interactions with it are changing. As we embrace concepts like cloud computing and artificial intelligence, ICT stands out as a place where uniqueness is not just embraced but celebrated—an environment poised to change the world once again.

Rob Groome is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at USC Institute for Creative Technologies, overseeing both the Information Technology and Facilities teams. Previously, Groome was the Head of IT and Information Security Officer at BlueOcean, the brandtech AI-powered decision intelligence company, headquartered in San Francisco. Groome has spent much of his career at University of Southern California (USC), joining ICT initially in 2001, as IT Manager, before being promoted to Director, IT. After almost 17 years with ICT, Groome took a promotion on the main campus, heading up the Security Operations Team within USC’s Information Technology Services (ITS) division for several years, before leaving academia for the world of Silicon Valley start-ups (BlueOcean). He re-joined ICT in 2023 as our first-ever CIO. 

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Bill Seeks Reparations for Families Displaced From Site of Dodger Stadium

About 1,800 families were forced to leave the land, now known as Chavez Ravine, that eventually became Dodger Stadium. A measure in the State Assembly could provide them with compensation or land.

By Jesus Jiménez

A bill introduced in the California Legislature on Friday will seek reparations for the families of people who were displaced from their homes in Los Angeles in the 1950s on land that eventually became the site of Dodger Stadium.

The bill, introduced by Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo, Democrat of Los Angeles, came after years of calls from organizers who have asked for reparations, either through money or the return of land that they contend was taken from their families.

The land, nestled between the San Gabriel Mountains and downtown Los Angeles, is widely known today as Chavez Ravine. But more than 60 years ago, the roughly 300-acre expanse was the three communities of Palo Verde, La Loma and Bishop, where about 1,800 families, most of whom were Mexican American, lived, according to the bill.

The residents of those communities were displaced in the 1950s by the city of Los Angeles, which had said that the land was needed to build affordable housing, according to the bill. The housing project was never built, and eventually the land was acquired by the Dodgers after they moved to Los Angeles from Brooklyn in the late 1950s.

“What happened to the families at those three communities, which are now known as Chavez Ravine, was unjust,” Ms. Carrillo said in an interview on Monday. “The promise of housing was never fulfilled, and those families were also robbed of homeownership and generational wealth because their homes were taken away.”

The bill is one of many that have been recently introduced in California that seek reparations for marginalized communities . If passed, the bill, the Chavez Ravine Accountability Act, would call on the city of Los Angeles to form a nine-member task force to provide compensation to the displaced or their descendants. The measure proposes different forms of compensation, including an offer of city-owned land or fair-market-value compensation.

A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles mayor, the Democrat Karen Bass, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

The bill also calls for the construction of a permanent memorial in the area to honor those displaced and for a searchable database that details the history of the land acquisition. The database, Ms. Carrillo said, would be essential to verify which families were displaced.

At a news conference in Los Angeles on Friday , Ricardo Lara, who is the state insurance commissioner and a sponsor of the bill, said that the residents of Palo Verde, La Loma and Bishop were never adequately compensated for their homes and land.

“Many resisted but eventually all were forced to relocate,” Mr. Lara said. “We believe this legislation will provide not only overdue compensation for the residents of these three vibrant communities, but it will also provide a vehicle for reconciliation and healing.”

Among those who resisted leaving was Aurora Vargas, who went by Lola and who was photographed being carried out of her home by sheriff’s deputies in May 1959.

After learning about the episode, Ms. Vargas’s niece, Melissa Arechiga, 48, founded Buried Under the Blue, a nonprofit that has sought to raise awareness about the history of the displacement of area residents. Ms. Arechiga created the organization in 2018 with Vincent Montalvo, 46, whose grandparents lived in Palo Verde before they were also displaced.

On a video call on Monday, Ms. Arechiga and Mr. Montalvo expressed a mix of emotions — including gratitude and relief — about the legislation.

“You never think these things are going to come,” Mr. Montalvo said. “This wasn’t something of a fairy tale, but now we’re going to be able to dive in deep with the bill as written of getting a lot of the history out.”

Still, Ms. Arechiga and Mr. Montalvo said they wanted to see some changes to the bill, such as the Dodgers having to play a role in the reparations. As written, the bill does not involve the Dodgers and Dodger Stadium.

“Some of this has to come from the Dodgers, too,” Mr. Montalvo said. “Because they’re still benefiting from the land, and they’re still profiting off our lands.”

A spokesman for the Dodgers did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the bill on Monday.

Ms. Arechiga and Mr. Montalvo said they were aware that the bill’s introduction was the first of many steps before it could be passed.

An exact timeline for the bill was unclear, but Ms. Carrillo said that it would be considered by the California Assembly’s Judiciary Committee. The legislation would need to move through the Assembly and the State Senate before landing on the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, by September, Ms. Carrillo said.

As written, the bill would require the database of former residents to be ready by Jan. 1, 2027, and the database would be needed before any compensation process could begin.

“It’s not over, but it makes it a little bit more real,” Ms. Arechiga said. “It verifies that all the hard work wasn’t for nothing.”

Jesus Jiménez covers breaking news, online trends and other subjects. He is based in New York City. More about Jesus Jiménez

Why Pauline Kael’s fight over ‘Citizen Kane’ still matters, whichever side you’re on

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Did Orson Welles get too much glory for “Citizen Kane”? Absolutely, New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael insists in this novella-length fire-starter about the making of the greatest movie of all time. (We can save that skirmish for another day.) As Charles Foster Kane, a sendup of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, Welles embodied the image of a vainglorious Great Man. But Welles’ success, according to Kael, meant he also needed to be taken down a peg.

The Ultimate Hollywood Bookshelf

“Raising Kane” ranks No. 40 on our list of the best Hollywood books of all time.

“Orson Welles wasn’t around when ‘Citizen Kane’ was written,” Kael chided. The 25-year-old prodigy was busy doing radio plays with the Mercury Theatre and promoting his forthcoming film debut with a studio that wanted only one name — by Orson Welles! — on the posters. RKO’s advertising campaign lauded “Citizen Kane” as the creation of “a one-man band.” Meanwhile, the actual author of the masterpiece — the movie’s co-screenwriter, Herman J. Mankiewicz — was tucked away in a rest home in Victorville, dictating the script to his secretary.

Kael’s Mankiewicz was a pitiable figure, a self-destructive alcoholic nursing a broken leg and an injured ego. She hoisted him up as one of Hollywood’s unheralded heroes, a brilliant quipster who quietly contributed his wit to everything from “Duck Soup” to “The Wizard of Oz.” Mankiewicz’s work often went unacknowledged, but he’d helped give the 1930s comedies the rat-a-tat rhythm of he and his friends ping-ponging jokes around the Algonquin Round Table. Much of the New York literary clique followed Mankiewicz to California when the industry shifted from silents to sound and filmmakers suddenly needed to hand their beautiful faces brilliant things to say. Together, this band of bohemians molded the modern movie business into what Kael hails as “wisecracking, fast-talking, cynical-sentimental entertainment.”

Decades later, David Fincher’s biopic “Mank” would back up Kael’s sympathetic sketch of Mankiewicz as the forgotten man. But pretty much everyone else considers her essay a hit job, a ferocious attack on a cinematic Goliath. “Raising Kane” took down Welles as handily as if she’d slipped a grenade in her slingshot. After the piece’s publication, Welles’ reputation tumbled — although the height from which he fell was his own fault. “Cinema is the work of one single person,” Kael quotes Welles as boasting, adding that he’d also bragged of making an easy transition from theater to film, as “there was nothing about camerawork that any intelligent man couldn’t learn in half a day.”

Such hubris put Welles in Kael’s crosshairs. (On his slighting of cinematographer Gregg Toland, she snarked, “Welles, like Hearst, and like most very big men, is capable of some very small gestures.”) Yet Kael’s real target was Village Voice film critic Andrew Sarris , her longtime rival who had staked his reputation on the auteur theory — the exaltation of the director über alles . To pull off her thesis, she refused to interview anyone who might have disagreed with her, including Welles himself. Anyone reading “Raising Kane” for the first time should remember that it’s merely one side in an intellectual tug-of-war.

Subsequent counter-essays flung darts at Kael’s biased research. (“How the hell do you call out a lady movie critic at dawn?” Welles groaned in a letter quoted in Peter Bogdanovich’s rebuttal, “The Kane Mutiny.”) But “Raising Kane’s” value transcends the question of whether Kael was correct. (She kinda was, she kinda wasn’t.) What matters is she started a fight that forced all film fans to consider, and defend, their definition of a great director: Is it a big boss enforcing their will upon a set, or a humble collaborator who brings out the best in their team?

For the peacemakers, it’s possible to twist “Raising Kane” into a defense of Welles’ later career, often waved off as not living up to the promise of his first film. If the boy genius puffed himself up too much, then it’s a kindness to forgive him for not measuring up to artificially inflated expectations. And despite the outrage, it’s clear that Kael admired “Citizen Kane” and the man who marshaled it into existence. “Orson Welles brought forth a miracle,” she wrote. Bless his heart.

Nicholson is a film critic and the host of the podcast “Unspooled.” Her first book, “Tom Cruise: Anatomy of an Actor” was published by Cahiers du Cinema, and her second, “Extra Girls,” will be published by Simon & Schuster.

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