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So, it’s been about a week since everyone received their USC admission decisions.  We know that for many of you, it’s been a rough week.  You didn’t get the news you wanted, or expected.  In fact, the grand majority of our first-year applicants (almost 90%) did not get admitted.

We know it is incredibly frustrating and disappointing to receive bad news.  None of us on the admission team enjoy this aspect of our job.  It is incredibly difficult to deny admission to strong applicants.  The fact of the matter is that we can only admit a small portion of applicants and we turn away a lot of strong, interesting,  and well-qualified students.

Please know that the admission decision is not any reflection on your character.  We know that you will continue to be successful wherever you end up next year.

If, after all of your admission decisions, you would like an engineering degree from USC, we want to help you get here. More than 20% of the Viterbi School of Engineering’s incoming class each year are transfer students and this is a great way to end up attending USC.

Transferring to USC is much simpler than you think.  If you do everything right, you can be joining us after just one year.

The Viterbi School of Engineering has dedicated counselors to assist students interested in transferring to USC.  Check out the Viterbi Transfer Admission page to familiarize yourself with the process.

The basics of it are as follows:

  1. Follow our Transfer Plans to take the right classes (Calculus, Lab Based Sciences, The USC Writing requirement equivalent, and a few GE equivalents) at your college or university
  2. Find transferable courses through our Transfer Planning Guides and/or Articulation Histories with other colleges around the country and figure out where you are going to attend for Fall 2018
  3. Get good grades (As and Bs) throughout all classes
  4. Apply as a transfer student for Fall 2019
  5. As a transfer applicant you will be evaluated on your college coursework – not on your previous high school career (such as your high school grades, ACT or SAT, scores, etc.).

Let us help!

You shouldn’t have to figure this out on your own.  Feel free to contact us as early as Mid-May to discuss your course plan for this fall.  Any of our admission counselors will be happy to help you figure your personal plan for transferring.

Paul Ledesma

As Executive Director, Paul oversees Undergraduate Admission for all programs at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. He was born and raised in southern California and is a lifetime Dodgers fan. He enjoys traveling (Italy may be a second home), discovering new restaurants in LA (tacos anyone?), and while he may not qualify as a bonafide movie-buff, he loves movies (especially comic book movies). He studied Psychology for his bachelor's degree, minored in Public Management, and was active in leadership for community service groups Troy Camp and Dance Marathon while attending USC. When he's not working he enjoys spending time with his wife, daughter, and rescued pup and kitty in Redondo Beach, CA. (well, maybe not the cat so much) Preferred Pronouns: he/him/his