First Year Applicants will be emailed on March 30, 2021 when there is a status update in your portal.
There is no need to continuously check your portal (or refresh). Check your email on March 30…. we’re almost there!
TRANSFER APPLICANTS: Your applications are still in review. You will receive an admission decision or a request for spring grades by the end of May, 2021.
Read on:
This time of year can be challenging, frustrating, stressful, emotional… and that’s when we aren’t in the middle of a global pandemic! I understand how you may be feeling, and I can back it up with google search results (“WHEN WILL USC RELEASE ADMISSION DECISIONS??!?!?” is a top referrer to our site right now). Admission decisions are rolling out from a number of universities, pressure is building, and you are wondering whether there is anything you can do at this point. We are receiving emails and calls asking the same questions…. so here’s a post with the hope we can get word out to all of our applicants:
We get it. We really do. Personally, this time of year is one my most loved and loathed weeks. There is about to be a great amount of excitement and positive news to be released… to a very small number of people relative to the size of our applicant pool. At the same time, we will also be releasing bad news to far more people than ever before.
So, here’s where we stand:
Admission decisions are currently being finalized. Committees are meeting as I post to make final decisions on the remaining few.
Applicants with complete applications will be emailed on March 30, 2021 when there is a status update in their USC Admission Portal.
The Numbers
Most of the stress around this time of year revolves around your chances of admission. And, to be honest, its challenging for many to accept the reality of incredibly strong competition. Here’s the bottom line: With such a fantastic applicant pool, an overwhelming majority of you *DESERVE* to be admitted, but that just isn’t possible given the size of our university and classes.
Everyone should know that this year, USC and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering received the most applications we have ever seen, respectively. Over 65,000 applications to the university. Over 14,000 of those applied to the USC Viterbi School.
2021 year is turning out be the most competitive admission year. Ever. Yes, we said the same thing for the last few years… I don’t know of another engineering school with application growth like this in the past decade. We are incredibly grateful to have such a fantastic group of students from which we can choose our incoming class.
While numbers aren’t final just yet, we are definitely ending up lower than last year, and likely just below a 10% acceptance rate for Fall 2021 in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
That is a hard number to swallow.
Next Steps
If you are admitted:
READ THROUGH EVERYTHING we send you and every element we put in your admission portal. It is definitely a ton of information (not to mention our emails that will soon be coming) – but there is a lot for you to do if you are considering USC and the USC Viterbi School.
VIRTUALLY VISIT WITH US through one of our many admitted student events such as our Viterbi Keynotes, Faculty Roundtable Discussions, Student Live Chats, and Student Organization Fair. (We will send you some more information on the details – and its also posted with registration info in your Admission Portal)
If you are not admitted:
Take a moment. It’s not easy to take it in stride, and we don’t expect you to be OK with it. But, the letter in your admission portal is all the information you need. Read through all of the “Frequently Asked Questions” as they likely address all of your questions, including the detailed instructions on how to appeal the decision.
While we may not be able to offer you a spot in this year’s first-year class, the door to USC Viterbi is not closed entirely. If you are interested in learning more about the Transfer Admission process, we are happy to help you. Once you have chosen a community college or university to attend this year, we can advise you on the best plan to be a strong transfer applicant next year. We are happy to work with you beginning in late May.
I know this post is not exactly fantastic news out of USC Viterbi, but I hope it sheds a little light onto what is happening at this very moment. At the very least, I hope you know we are working hard and taking great care in making good decisions for the work you put into applying to USC and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
Fight On!
– Paul
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