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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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How to Write the University of Southern California Application Essays 2015-2016

(note: this post has been updated for the 2016-2017 application cycle. to view the updated post, click here .).

“Fight on!” These two words ring through every hallway at the University of Southern California, invoking the spirit and camaraderie of the mighty Trojans themselves. USC is a private institution based in Los Angeles, California, with an emphasis on research and strong athletics. USC athletic teams boast a total of 123 national titles across various sports, and fans from across the nation often deck themselves out in cardinal and gold in support of the dominant Trojan football team. The USC social dynamic is diverse and happening, and if Greek life is your thing, about 25% of men are in a fraternity and 20% of women are in a sorority. With a total enrollment of 18,000, there is opportunity around every corner of USC’s beautiful campus, and while parts of LA off-campus are places to stay away from, life on campus makes up for any restrictions. With amazing academics and a gung-ho student culture, it’s no wonder that USC alum come away loving their four years as a Trojan.

USC is very selective, choosing about 18% of the thousands of applicants every year, and yields about 35%. Certain schools, like the Viterbi School of Engineering, may be even more difficult to get into, so it’s best to be well prepared when applying to USC, whether that’s early acceptance or regular decision.

USC students are known to be involved. Briefly describe a non-academic pursuit (such as service to community or family, a club or sport, or work, etc.,) that best illustrates who you are, and why it is important you. (250 word limit)

This question may feel like an extension of the Common App in that it simply asks more about your extracurricular interests, but this question is a good opportunity to go more in depth and reveal new things about your personality. As this question states, they want to see how the activity you choose to write about “best illustrates who you are,” so you have room to talk more about yourself and your background. For example, you could elaborate on how you grew up doing outdoor aerobics with your uncle, and how that eventually lead to your participation in triathlons. This pursuit can be commonplace or unique, but it’s best not to mention the sports or clubs you already listed on your Common App (unless you can write a strong story about what they mean to you personally). If possible, use an activity out of the usual or very personal and expand upon it, because chances are it will be easier to explain why this unique activity is important to you and differentiates you than a more clichéd extracurricular will. No matter your approach to this rather basic question, your response can leave a strong impression on admissions as they try to gauge how you as a person will fit into USC and the non-academic opportunities there.

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

While this question may also seem like an extension of the Common Application, the admissions are trying to create a wholesome picture of you, so use this essay to go in depth about your intellectual passions and why you want to pursue what you want to pursue. This is an ideal “Why major” question, so make sure to also address why you are qualified to pursue your first and second choice majors, and why you want to study these subjects at USC in specific. Even if your essay seems conventional or boring, that’s fine – this prompt is straightforward, and you don’t want to leave admissions more confused about your academic interests with an unnecessarily complex narrative. You can even give a little background, or approach this essay somewhat from a “Why school” style, but there’s no need to do something too fancy. Just remember to be precise about what you are interested in, why you are passionate about that, and why you are meant to study this at USC.

If you plan on applying to the School of Engineering:

How do you plan to use your engineering degree to benefit society? (250 word limit)

This essay evaluates two main things: what your career plans are as an engineer, and how much you have researched and looked into USC engineering. First off, you want to talk about what you would do with your engineering degree, specifically with respect to how that degree would “benefits society,” because they want to see whether or not you should be put into the engineering school. If you put a second major as non-Viterbi school of engineering, this essay can be a large factor in whether or not they accept you into Viterbi or some other school like Dornsife College of LSA. While your career plans may be the same no matter what engineering program you enter at whatever school, an engineering education at USC is unique, and the admissions will want to see if you know facts about USC engineering and know what you can get out of specific programs at the Viterbi school of engineering. So, do your research and mention professors you can collaborate with (be specific, name-drop only if the professor is actually relevant to you and what you want to do) or programs you can join at USC that will help you in the long run. Much like the other USC essays, this prompt is straightforward, so be clear and be bold in how you believe your career plans and engineering goals will change the world.

Some people categorize engineers as geeks or nerds. Are you a geek, nerd, or neither? Why? (250 word limit)

Feel free to be creative with this one! This essay is a perfect chance to be quirky, funny, and honest about who you are and what makes you an engineer personality-wise. You don’t have to talk about engineering projects you have done, but rather you can talk about the small nerdy or geeky things you do for fun (or don’t do, since neither is still an option). You want to convey how your personality makes you an ideal engineer, so even if you don’t feel as if you are geeky or nerdy, you want to talk about yourself and what makes you feel like building, creating, simplifying, engineering.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, university of south carolina gpa calculator.

Hi folks! Does anyone know where I can find a GPA calculator specifically for the University of South Carolina? I'd like to calculate my chances of getting admitted but need some guidance, please. Thanks!

Hello! While there isn't a GPA calculator specifically tailored for the University of South Carolina (USC), you can use a standard unweighted GPA calculator to get a good estimate of your current GPA. Most GPA calculators available online are based on a 4.0 scale and account for regular, honors, and AP/IB courses. Just look for a "4.0 unweighted GPA calculator" through an online search, and you'll find several free tools that can assist you.

After you have calculated your GPA, you can compare it to USC's middle 50% range for GPAs, which tend to fall between 4.1 and 4.7 (weighted). Since this range is weighted, your course rigor will play a significant role in how USC admissions officers view your academic achievements—namely, how many honors, AP, or IB classes you have taken.

To estimate your overall chances, remember that colleges, including USC, consider multiple factors for admission, such as your standardized test scores (if submitted), extracurricular activities, and essays. So, while your GPA is important, it's only one component of your application.

If you want to get a sense of how you stack up overall at USC, I'd check out CollegeVine's free chancing engine, which accounts for all quantifiable aspects of your profile, such as test scores (if you have them), course rigor, extracurriculars, and of course GPA, to give you personalized odds of acceptance at USC and hundreds of other colleges across the country: https://www.collegevine.com/admissions-calculator

This tool will also give you suggestions for how to improve your odds, whether by raising your GPA slightly, or some other step like earning a leadership position in one of your extracurriculars. Good luck with your college application process!

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