But its really hard 🙁 after all the processes that we went through, they just accepted 15 people its really sad.. now they will compare us to those people who applied a month ago..then whats the point of applying that early...I wish I knew the reason,at least waiting would be much easier... last year they they invited 150 people and accepted 55 people for the first round ..and a week after it they accepted some of AC too! now this year they accept 15 out 99....and nothing else..
From what I know of about USC, applicants have their application converted into a number. With this number, they are either going to be be above the cutoff range or below the cutoff range. According to my friends at USC, usually applicants for the October and March interviews on average do not have the best numbers. Rather, January and February do. This is how it works. Before the October interview, USC has only some of their potential applicant pool. However, because their applicant pool is smaller, it was supposedly thought that if you were being compared to a smaller applicant pool, you would have a higher chance of getting in. For Jan and Feb interviews, USC has already reviewed all applicants in their applicant pool, allowing them to invite Jan and Feb applicants from the top of the total applicant list now. However, between each interview date, all applicants are reevaluated and compared, helping them make their decisions for who gets the next interview and who gets accepted. March interviews are trying to fill in the remaining spots for the next class.
What I assume is that USC has raised their standard for what they expect out of their applicants in the interview. The interview is factoring more into the numbers and thus fewer applicants are getting accepted. Last year, they may have accepted more people off AC a week after the October interview because by that point, they have already received and reviewed all the applicants in their pool. Then, they'll take a look back at the October interviews and see that maybe they did like more of them than they originally thought. Maybe also this year, the applicants are more competitive. These are just my conclusions.
As for not getting in the October round, think of it like this. You still have 3 more chances of getting reevaluated! That's more than what the rest of us have. I understand just how badly you want to get into USC, but be optimistic about it. We are still early into the application period. Hang in there!
