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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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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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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! 

Also see : How to choose a college

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A Guide to the USC Supplemental Essays 2021-2022

Padya Paramita

October 28, 2021

You could be applying to the University of Southern California as an aspiring actor hoping to benefit from the “Acting for the Stage, Screen, and New Media” program as a stepping stone to Hollywood. Or you could be more of a STEM-oriented person, hoping to break into the gaming industry, ready to take on the “Computer Science: Games'' major. Whatever your academic focus, taking advantage of the USC supplemental essays 2021-2022 is an effective way to highlight who you are and why you’ve chosen the home of the Trojans.

USC appreciates students who are willing to take advantage of their wide range of programs. The university looks for candidates who are interested in “ global issues and aren’t afraid to speak up in class or fight for a cause .” If you believe you check these boxes, it’s time to let the college know why by taking advantage of the writing component. To help you, I’ve outlined the prompts, the dos and don’ts for your responses, and additional tips for writing the USC supplemental essays 2021-2022 .

Prompts for the USC Supplemental Essays 2021-2022

Please respond to one of the prompts below. (250 words) .

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.

When choosing what to write about for this prompt, think critically about your experiences. You don’t have to choose something incredibly grand. Your topic can highlight a situation on a smaller scale and still convey a meaningful story that shaped your perspective. What matters is that your narrative is personal, and shows you as an intelligent, likable, and self-aware individual. Think about a time you might have realized you were wrong about something, for example. You could show your realization that previously made assumptions were proved to be incorrect, e.g, if you were too quick to put someone in a box, but they are now one of your best friends or most influential members.

250 words are not enough to detail every single second of what happened when your viewpoint was challenged. If you choose this prompt for the USC supplemental essays 2021-2022 , you should emphasize the latter part of the question. Your response should elaborate on why this experience mattered so much, how it has changed the way you think, and what it means for you moving forward.

Admissions officers should be able to see your open-mindedness to different points of view and believe that you would be a valuable addition to the USC community. 

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

Answering this prompt within the USC supplemental essays 2021-2022 is a great chance for you to talk about an interest that hasn’t come across in the rest of your application. If you’re a STEM student, your courses and extracurriculars probably revolve around science, and similarly, if you’re a musician or a writer, you might have been more involved in creative activities. At the same time, your choice of major doesn’t define who you are. You could be a science major who is also a talented violinist. You could also have unusual hobbies such as cross-stitching or competitive eating that you could elaborate on if you pick this question. 

Don’t spend too much time detailing the activity. Your response should mainly highlight why the topic matters to you so much, how you’ve gone out of your way to explore new issues within the field, and how you hope to continue to explore the area in college. Admissions officers would appreciate knowing you’re a multifaceted individual, that you’re invested in a topic outside your primary intellectual pursuits, so choose this essay if you’re excited to portray a different side of you. If the interest is different from your primary interest, but somehow connects, it’d be good to describe that here.

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

This is the most open-ended prompt offered by the USC supplemental essays 2021-2022 . There are a couple of points to keep in mind when answering it: 1) What have you not already covered in your personal statement and activities list? and 2) What experience, aspect of your background, or unique extracurricular interest distinguishes you from other students your age? If there’s a quality that you love about yourself, you could elaborate on that. Make sure it’s not something simple such as “I’m funny.” If you’ve got an exceptional sense of humor, you have to show it in action. Why is it fundamental to you? How has it developed over time? Why do you appreciate it?

When it comes to framing such an essay, anecdotes are essential for getting your point across to the reader. If you’re just going to state a fact, you’ll have hundreds of words remaining. Instead, narrate a story that covers exactly what makes you unique, and you’ll help admissions officers understand you much better, as well as get a sense of your voice and what matters to you. 

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 the closest to a “why school” question as USC gets. The school wants to know whether you’ve actually put thought into your decision to apply, or if you’re just interested because it’s a well-ranked school in sunny LA. So before you sit down to write your answer, it’s important to go through the list of academic programs at the college and think about how they will help you reach your goals. 

Because this prompt is all about looking towards the future, don’t focus your essay too much on how your interest in the topics originally arose. The main point of your response should highlight how you will take advantage of unique USC majors such as “Cinematic Arts, Film, and Television Production,” or “Animation and Digital Arts.” If you’ve chosen a major that’s available at other colleges such as Chemistry or Music, you need to drive home exactly why the courses and resources offered by USC can help your specific aspirations. Don’t limit yourself to just academic offerings. If there are any relevant clubs or programs of an academic nature, mention those as well.

Each of your points should be tailored to USC. Do the research and see if a given program is unique to UC or a national one available at every school.

Describe yourself in three words. First Word:*

Second Word:*

Third Word:*

What is your favorite snack?*

Best movie of all time:*

Dream job:*

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?*

USC wants to know how you would fit into the college. Help them to see where on campus you’d make contributions and how its resources boost you toward your goals. So instead of choosing common and vague adjectives to describe yourself such as “loyal” or “kind,” choose three words that convey more information about who you are and what you enjoy, such as “eclectic” or “globetrotter.” The words you pick shouldn’t all mean similar things. Each entry should throw a new element into the mix to express information about you.

The key to writing these very short answers is to make sure you’re being truthful. Don’t just try to aim for what you think the admissions officers want to read. Just because you’re a prospective history major, doesn’t mean your favorite TV show necessarily has to be Downton Abbey. If you enjoy the humor of Kimmy Schmidtt, that’s fine as well. These responses among the USC supplemental essays 2021-2022 are designed to get to know you. 

Some of the questions could help convey a more fun side of you, such as choosing a fictional character or a famous person as your roommate, or your theme song. Think carefully about these answers. Even though you haven’t been asked “why” for these questions, think about what the hundred characters can convey about you. What do you hope that admissions officers will deduce about you based on your answers? Don’t try extra hard to be witty. But if it comes naturally, don’t be afraid to add it in.

While it’s important to be yourself, you also need to remember that you want to stand out from your peers. Don’t say Disneyland for a dream trip or The Avengers as your favorite movie of all time because these are common answers that the reader is bound to encounter from other students. Saying Harry Potter is your favorite book won’t really make for a memorable application. Try to think outside of the box, while making sure you’re staying true to yourself at the same time.

For Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences: 

Answer one of the following questions.

The word “education” can take on a variety of meanings. To some, receiving a high school or college diploma is the ultimate mark of being “educated,” while others take a different view. Looking past receiving a diploma, what does it mean to you personally to be “educated”? What standards will you put in place to define whether or not you’ve obtained a great education? (250 words)

This is an interesting—but tricky—question. You can answer this prompt if you have thought a lot about what education and particularly a college education means to you. See that the question has mentioned “past receiving a diploma.” So, when writing the USC supplemental essays 2021-2022, if you do choose this prompt, remember that you shouldn’t just be saying “to get a degree” or anything of that accord. Have you gained significant experience in a certain area due to your education? Do you believe pursuing higher education can help you reach certain goals? Or, do you have a unique perspective on the matter that provides a different way of thinking about the matter entirely? No matter what you write about, make sure admissions officers leave the application with an idea of your perspective and how your way of thinking would contribute to their campus.

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 is a very open-ended question. The school values students who are particularly invested in activities and topics that are meaningful to them, no matter what the scale. If you have a meaningful hobby that isn’t a conventional extracurricular per se, or you have a favorite movie that you watch over and over again, USC is telling you to write about it. Just the introductory paragraph to most essays requires over 250 words—you might find it difficult to restrain yourself while talking about your favorite topic. In order to get your point across, you need to put less emphasis on describing the activity or object or issue at hand—limit it to one or two sentences—and more on why you could talk about it for so long. Why is it your favorite? Why does it get a fire out of you in a way other topics don’t? Has it shaped your perspective in a significant way?

Since admissions officers will see your activities list through the Common App, you should find ways to include anecdotes that will convey additional information about yourself. While you should not pick a purely academic topic or something that you think USC wants to hear, you also should think of something beyond global warming, a popular movie, or your major choice. Your outlook on the activity or subject should be unique, and help you stand out among your peers.

For Engineering Applicants:

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)

This is a very open-ended question. You can start by asking yourself the following questions to see if this prompt is right for you:

• Is there a part of you that’s unique that you haven’t been able to talk about in other parts of your application?
• Have you started any initiatives or clubs that you would like to further highlight?
• What is your passion?
• What has been your biggest inspiration?
• How do you spend your free time?
• How are you equipped to be a future engineer?
• How do you work on a team?
• Why are you applying to USC specifically for engineering?

Choose a topic that can help distinguish you from other applicants and make you a memorable engineering candidate in the schools’ eyes. Make sure you write an essay that portrays you as not just a leader or unique applicant—but as someone who would make a difference to the Viterbi Engineering community. Make sure you mention specific resources from the school that can help you get there. And do NOT repeat your personal statement!

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)

This prompt is a bit different than supplemental essays that you might be used to. USC wants its engineering students to be unafraid to challenge themselves and step up when necessary. Go through the website and think about which challenge is important to you. Whether you select “provide access to clean water” or “make solar energy more economical” don’t forget to explain exactly why the challenge is important to you. And don’t be generic in your answers! We all know why clean water is crucial—but why is the issue personally important to you? Use anecdotes and any relevant experiences that you have to drive home your point!

Additional Tips for Answering the USC Supplemental Essays 2021-2022

• Be Careful About Repeating Your Personal Statement - The University of Southern California is a member of the Common App, so there’s no point repeating what you’ve said in your personal statement , especially considering that Prompt 1 in Question 1 is very similar to the Common App prompt: “ Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?” Prompt 3 in Question 1 is similar to the Common App question, “ 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. ” Because admissions officers want each component to add something new, don’t repeat what you’ve said if you’ve chosen these Common App prompts. Or, if your USC and Common App questions overlap, write about a different experience for USC. If you keep repeating information, your application is pretty much bound to bore the admissions officers. That’s the last thing you want.
• Choose the essay option that’s best for you - For most of the questions, you have the option to choose from the three prompts. Make sure you think carefully about your choices. Pick a topic that you believe will bring the strongest response out of you and help paint an accurate picture of your personality. If you can’t come up with a time your viewpoint was changed, instead try thinking about your other academic interests. If neither of those appeals to you, brainstorm what you could tell the admissions officers through the questions. Take advantage of the flexibility provided by the USC supplemental essays 2021-2022 .

USC asks a wide range of questions to get to know you better. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to expand on why you’re an exceptional and must-have applicant. By thinking carefully about how you can distinguish yourself from your peers—along with making sure your answers focus on you and your interests—you can be a standout candidate through stellar responses to the USC supplemental essays 2021-2022 . You’ve got this!

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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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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?

The Admissions Strategist

How to write the usc supplemental essays 2020-2021: the perfect guide (examples included).

University of Southern California (USC) is a private university located in downtown Los Angeles, California.

With its warm weather and beautiful campus, USC has been a prime film location for many films and television shows.

• If you’ve seen Forrest Gump, Legally Blonde, Love & Basketball, The Social Network , and the C ., you’ve seen USC.

Boasting over 21 colleges, academies, and schools of study that offer hundreds of majors, and thousands of courses, USC offers plenty of variety for even the most curious students.

USC’s acceptance rate has been sitting at a thin 13% for the past few years.

With such a low acceptance rate, you’ll need to write excellent essays to be considered for admission at USC.

USC uses the Common App , which means you can access all essay questions on the Common App portal.

Though you’ll need to make these essays count, you shouldn’t worry. This guide is here to help you through the entire process, so you can show the USC admissions team that you deserve to be a part of their upcoming class through thoughtful and well-written supplemental essays.

What Are USC’s Supplemental Essay Requirements?

USC requires that students answer multiple prompts as part of the application process. You will find both on the Common App.

Click above to watch a video on USC Supplemental Essay.

For the first prompt, students must choose one of three potential essay questions . These questions assess the student’s diverse experiences, interests, and characteristics. This type of question is also commonly referred to as the “diversity essay.”

The prompts for essay #1 include:

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?

For the second prompt, students must describe their intended major and what motivated them to make that choice.

The question is as follows:

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.

USC also has a short answer section, in which you are expected to write extremely short, 1 sentence (or even 1 word) answers. These questions are designed to better showcase your personality.

These questions are quite random, so prepare yourself to answer with authenticity and a bit of thought, so the best version of yourself is represented.

Creating a compelling application to USC requires well-written essay responses that reflect critical self-reflection and self-understanding.

On top of perfecting your mechanical skills, work to condense and hone your writing so that every word adds to your main point.

In addition to helping admissions counselors get to know you better through writing, you should pay attention to your organization, spelling, and grammar.

Simple mistakes in those areas can outshine your true potential.

We’ll look into each of the prompts in detail below, to help you submit the best version possible

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Usc supplemental essay prompt #1: new ideas.

“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.”

In this prompt, USC tells you that they value diversity.

Not only do they value diversity, but they also value people who can appreciate diversity and are open-minded to new ideas, experiences, and perspectives .

First, it’s vital that you truly understand what diversity means.

• According to Merriam-Webster, two definitions are “the inclusion of different types of people (such as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization” and “an instance of being composed of differing elements or qualities.”

To answer this question, you will have to reflect on past experiences during which you faced a different idea or belief that somehow challenged yours.

• You will then have to tie your experience and lessons learned in with USC’s values.

USC’s values are found underneath the Applicant Admission Process tab on their website.

In the Personal Qualities section, USC states: “We look for students who possess the potential to contribute to our diverse and vibrant campus life, who represent a vast array of interests and passions, and are leaders unafraid to speak up in class or fight for a cause.

We value students who make us think….”

• In other words, not only does USC want you to be open-minded and appreciative of diversity, they also want you to be a leader and contributor to their community. They want you to own your uniqueness and share it with others in a way that is mutually beneficial to the community and to you.

Before you begin generating ideas, let’s take a deeper look at the question to fully understand what USC is asking for without going overboard in your response.

• “Tell us about A TIME you were exposed to a new idea OR when your beliefs were challenged by another point of view.”
• Your essay response only needs to include one story and does not need to include both components mentioned in the prompt.

To start brainstorming, think of a few times where you heard something or had a conversation that introduced you to a new perspective, changed your perspective, or called it into question.

• How did you feel?
• Why did you feel that way?

Once you have generated a list of experiences, pick the one you feel offers the deepest experience with diversity in your life.

Reflect on this experience and discuss how it affected you in a positive way.

• How did those experiences change your thinking or your outlook on life for the better?
• Did the experience cause you to question or reflect on other beliefs you possess?
• If your perspective didn’t change, what did you appreciate about the other perspective on the issue/idea/belief?

It’s helpful to write down thoughts and notes before you begin crafting your actual essay.

After doing this, take what you have written and summarize that into a brief thesis statement.

• Then, expand to help the reader to understand your challenge just as you were experiencing it.

Your telling of the experience can flow similar to how you would tell someone out loud, but you’re limited to 250 words.

• For example, “My discussion with Person X did not change my views on the problems associated with income inequality, but it did help me to better understand and sympathize with some of the issues self-made wealthy individuals face…etc.”

Pick your most poignant experience and make a story out of it.

Help the reader to experience your challenge just as you were experiencing it.

Be sure to showcase your individuality and your open-mindedness. Once you’ve written your personal statement, be sure to have someone read through and edit your response.

This will help make sure your point was made and avoid spelling/grammar errors you may have overlooked.

USC Supplemental Essay Prompt #2: Outside of Your Academic Focus

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

With this prompt, USC wants to see that you are able to demonstrate open-mindedness.

• It’s great that you want to study mathematics, but are you open to learning from the field of music?
• What about psychology?
• Maybe you want to be a doctor and are inspired by literary doctors like Oliver Sacks and William Carlos Williams. In this case, you’d explain how you plan on studying literature in addition to pre-medical courses.

They want to know that you care about things outside of your immediate focus.

Having more than one interest makes you more well-rounded on a personal level, and it can help you on professional and academic levels as well.

• For instance, USC wants to produce skilled doctors, and they would prefer to produce good doctors who also understand the healing power of narrative. You’ll want to have a focus but also a breadth of diverse interests.

For this question, you will also need to be genuine.

Even if your other interest is not an academic field or major offered at USC, it’s okay.

• The prompt doesn’t state it has to be an academic interest – it just has to be outside of your intended academic focus.
• You may decide to minor in another area, but you should not feel restricted to discuss academics only.

Consider writing about opportunities offered at the university that exist outside of the classroom.

You could try researching the different clubs, activities, or events that exist or happen around campus.

• For example, you may major in political science but also want to become a better musician.
• You might sign up for a voice class at the university and join choirs and singing groups to improve your musical ability.

Or, maybe you are a STEM major, but you’ve also been learning ASL. You could write about your interest in USC’s American Sign Language Club, as it would help you better practice your sign language.

• What are your other interests?
• Try writing them down and writing about the one that means the most to you (or shows a side of you that is not yet on your application).

Here is another example:

• If you plan on majoring in bioengineering, you’ll want to think beyond biology and engineering, as this is implied in the name of the major. You could be interested in a humanity like anthropology, which works to explain how human cultures work – an interest that may inform and enrichen your primary focus.

If you can’t think of a particular interest that would be completely new to you, consider a topic outside your academic focus that you want to become better versed in.

In this case, you’ll express why you want to continue learning more about that interest. In other words:

• What is something you want to learn more about?
• Why do you want to learn more about it?

While there’s no wrong way to answer the question, a great way to approach the question is using your interest to unconventionally further your understanding in your academic focus.

• For instance, if you’re a physics major with a passion for music, you might write about using music as practical applications of some physics principles regarding vibration and sound transfer.

If there’s a particular story behind your interest, share that in a way that helps the reader connect with you.

Telling a short story about your interest will help you effectively use more of your 250-word limit.

Overall, try to be authentic and show USC that you’re a well-rounded individual who will add to their campus community in more ways than one.

USC Outside of Academic Focus Essay Example

“Hi. My name … is Bobby … and I will be playing Fur … Elise … today.” The audience sat still as I stuttered through my introduction, approaching the lavish grand piano for my freshman-year recital. As chords flowed through my hands, my fingers began to slip, missing notes along the way. My stage fright had gotten the better of me. When I enrolled at GSA the next year, my friends dragged me to drill practice in preparation for the Clash of the Halls dance competition. I was reluctant, but upperclassmen convinced me to represent my hall at the most popular event at school. Although I had performed at multiple piano recitals, participating in choreographed dancing was a new challenge. Passion gradually outweighed my fear as I became more comfortable with the challenging choreography. Dancing became less of a commitment. I slowly became obsessed with making sure our team hit every note, rhythm, and beat. When I began leading practices, rising from apprentice to teacher, the moves became muscle memory and excitement pumped through my veins. After months of practices, I led my hallmates into the gym, exuding hall spirit and assuming our formation. The fear that once possessed me completely vanished. We went on to give an unforgettable show. Having discovered my newfound passion, I went on to choreograph my school’s Diwali dance for the next two years. I look forward to pursuing my love for dance by joining the USC Zeher Bollywood fusion team in the near future.

USC Supplemental Essay Prompt #3: Essential to Understanding You

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

This is the equivalent of the “tell me about yourself” question; the same one that you will be asked during almost every interview.

This question is broad, so you want to be particular.

The best way to be particular is by utilizing a story you haven’t already told in another part of your application. This story should also highlight one of the characteristics you feel is essential to who you are as a person.

• Think of a story that demonstrates your values, a perfect day, an activity you enjoy, or an important relationship.

You’ll want to be able to pinpoint that one thing throughout your story.

• The key is to answer the question concisely (within the 250 word count maximum) and genuinely.

Another great way to approach this question is to ask yourself a question and answer through a free-write.

Examples of questions you could ask yourself include:

• What do I value?
• What does my perfect day look like?
• What could I do every day and not get tired of?
• Who are the most important people in my life?
• What’s my ultimate life goal?
• What motivates me?

Write whatever comes to mind for your questions.

Don’t be afraid to include a negative experience if it significantly affected your life, goals, or personality.

This is where you can find beauty in the darkness to show how you’re unique.

Do the same free-write exercise with these questions.

• What struggle do I work most to overcome?
• What is something only those closest to me know about how I’ve become who I am?
• What do I avoid at all costs?
• What am I terrified of?

You are not being asked to share your most tragic story or deepest darkest secret, but it’s important to appreciate that we don’t only grow from positive experiences.

We grow from all experiences, so write about one (positive or negative) that has shaped you most.

The next step is to ask yourself why. This is very important.

USC wants to know what is important to you and why it’s important.

• If your answer is “I don’t know,” take some time to think about it or move on to the next idea on your list.
• Ask friends and family for their thoughts (but remember that you have to create an essay with your own thoughts and not those of someone else).

Here’s an example of breaking down a meaningful story to pinpoint the specific characteristic that is essential to you being you.

• Interest: I love traveling by train.
• Why? I like the rhythm and cadence of the wheels on the tracks, the sound of the whistle, watching the diversity of the landscape as I travel in and out of urban centers.
• What does it say about me? I pine for a quieter, slower time and love to find ways to balance the rush and grind of the city with habits of slow living.
• What characteristic does this give me? This says something about how I’m contemplative.
• How do I use this characteristic? I spend time contemplating choices longer than most and dislike being rushed to make a decision.

When you’re able to come up with the answer to “Why?” write down as much as you can without judging yourself. You’re the only person who knows the truth about what is essential to understanding you.

When you’re able to identify what you would like to write about, frame it within a story.

Remember you only have 250 words to spare, so it won’t be a full-blown story.

However, two to three sentences about the background behind your topic will be helpful to the reader.

• For example, if you want to write about your involvement in sports as an important part of who you are, write about how you became interested in sports in the first place.
• Maybe your grandfather taught you how to throw a football. Maybe he came to all your games.
• Let the reader know the story behind what you’ve chosen to write about.

As always, have someone read your essay to ensure that it is error-free and genuinely reflects you.

USC Essential to Understanding You Essay Example

My grandmother likes to tell the story of three-year-old me in the grocery cart, screaming in Vietnamese the names of passing vegetables, much to the amusement of shoppers. Back then, Vietnamese was enough. In kindergarten, I faced my first language obstacle. At the toilet, I couldn’t undo my double-ring belt. How embarrassing would it be to interrupt the teacher in the middle of class and silently point to it, hoping she would get the message? I chose to sit on the toilet and cry. That was the first day I peed my pants in class but the last time language would ever come between me and going to the bathroom. I made learning English my mission. By third grade, I was reading stacks of books almost as tall as I was every week. Language is meaningful to me. While volunteering in the hospital, when I ask a lost elderly couple if they speak Vietnamese, their eyes light up in relief. When a Spanish-speaking woman hurriedly calls her child over to translate, I tell them in Spanish not to worry, empathizing with the child who has the same role I once did. Language doesn’t just communicate information. For me, it has been a tool for insight, allowing me to connect with others. Throughout my schooling, I’ve taught my parents a lot of English, and I still teach them new words every so often. When I make the occasional error, I jokingly but affectionately blame it on English as my second language.

“Why USC?” Supplemental Essay: How to Answer The Intended Major Question

“The intended major question states: Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections.”

This is another version of a “Why This College” essay .

Sometimes when high school students are asked about their major, they get overwhelmed because they aren’t 100% confident about what they want to study.

Consider major selections to be a road trip, not a death sentence.

You are allowed to change your mind, but it helps if you know what you want and why. So, take some time to think about it:

• What do you enjoy studying?
• Why do you enjoy studying it?
• Are there other subjects you enjoy as well?

Think about your experiences in school up until this point.

Sure, interests change, but, often, there are things within our lives that remain constant.

Maybe you never cared about history class, but you enjoyed reading novels and analyzing characterization and plot techniques.

• Or, perhaps you hated having reading assigned for class but enjoyed acting out scenes from different novels and plays.

These are things to take note of.

Another way to help you figure out your intended major is to look through USC’s website.

• Remember, this question functions as both a question about your intended major and a question about your intentions for applying to USC. Your answer is best suited when tailored to USC’s unique features that other colleges may not offer.

Does Biomedical Engineering sound interesting to you? Check out USC’s Biomedical Engineering program. Look at the courses you will have to take. See what excites you.

Still struggling to come up with your intended major?

Working backward is another helpful strategy.

• Think about where you will want to be 5 to 10 years from now.
• What do you want to be doing every day?
• Are you passionate about reading and analyzing large amounts of information and communicating it in a way that makes sense to other people?
• Do you want to teach people how to handle their finances?
• Are you interested in helping other people live healthier lives?
• Do you want to develop your passion for writing into a career?

Look at careers that match the types of things you will want to be doing every day. Then, look at the type of knowledge that will be required to get those jobs.

That knowledge may be found in more than one major. If that’s the case, you will need to look through the department websites for your intended majors.

• Once you’ve done the necessary background research, tell your story.
• Lean into a story of what your major will be and own it, but, remember, it’s not binding or contractual.

The more you learn about different majors, the clearer your intended major may become, so spend a couple of hours clicking deep into the website:

• Start with the programs related to a chosen field.
• Then, look at the types of courses that are offered and learn about some of the professors teaching the courses.
• You’ll also want to look at news or research coming out of the department.

Consider ways in which you will grow and flourish academically and programs to which you might contribute as a student at USC.

If you have a career goal, it can help.

• Describe how your major in narrative studies will help you realize the goal of becoming a documentary filmmaker.
• Explain how you will be prepared in a program that balances traditional studies in English literature with film theory, writing classes, as well as the study of popular culture and ethnicity.
• Write about how a degree in social work will help shape you into the type of politician you want to be in the future.

Write the vision for your life and write how your first (and/or second-choice) major will help you get there.

It would be an added bonus if you can talk about extracurricular activities you might be interested in joining to further supplement your learning.

Remember, learning takes place outside the classroom as well.

Take time with this essay to make sure you’re confident in your future goals, and then share them with the admissions team. When you’re authentic and have a plan for the future, you’re sure to write a compelling essay.

Why USC and Why This Major Essay Example

8 p.m. – I sat in the peer tutor room, waiting for underclassmen to approach me for academic help. An hour-long shift passed without any students stopping by. At this moment, I realized the immense lack of organization within the peer tutoring program at GSA. Students could neither find available tutors nor schedule time with them despite needing support for challenging courses. I knew there had to be a better way. I spent the next few months teaching myself Android Studio programming and developed EngTutor, an app that streamlines the process of finding academic help connecting students with available tutors. I will use the resources available at USC to turn EngTutor into a commercial venture. In the classroom, I aim to take advantage of USC’s advanced computer science program to broaden my knowledge of robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. I am excited to take courses such as Advanced Natural Language Processing to understand AI concepts. At USC, I intend to take advantage of the focus on interdisciplinary studies and enroll in elective courses at the Marshall School of Business to complement my skills developed at USC’s LavaLab. By receiving mentorship from professionals in entrepreneurship and computer science and gaining experience pitching my ideas to judges, I will be ready to participate in the Blackstone LaunchPad. Here, I aim to collaborate with like-minded individuals to enhance my entrepreneurship capabilities. Through these academic and extracurricular programs, USC will provide me with the resources necessary to embark on my entrepreneurial journey.

The USC Short-Answer Questions

The USC Short-Answer Questions include:

• 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?

While most universities that include a short answer section limit your word count to 100 words, the USC short answer questions only require one or two sentences to fully answer them.

• Be sure to answer the “why” implicit in the question.
• Treat it more like a conversation or an interview – monosyllabic responses don’t bode well for a conversation, and they don’t look great on your application, either.
• Instead, add a little context to your answers.
• After all, the USC admissions department should better understand you after reading your short answers.

There are two kinds of questions – Listing something that you feel describes yourself, and answering generic “break the ice” questions.

• For the questions in which you describe yourself, try asking friends or family for some perspective.
• Most importantly, make sure that you don’t choose vague adjectives – Each word should reflect a specific part of your personality.

If you are having a lot of trouble thinking of words that best describe you, don’t be afraid to get creative. For example, if you are a Harry Potter fan, consider using traits that describe your favorite Hogwarts house.

• For instance, if you consider yourself a Ravenclaw, you might use the words “analytical, quizzical, and creative.”
• A Slytherin may use “ambitious, hardworking, and clever.”
• Whatever method you use, make sure that these words tell USC about you.

For other questions, begin with the answer, then explain the why.

Also, remember that the admissions team at USC is not looking for the most sophisticated student, they just want introspective students.

• For instance, don’t just say that your favorite movie is Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Twelve Angry Men – explain why (briefly).
• Perhaps you’re interested in the themes of privacy versus security, or the film made you interested in the law or political science.

With every question, bring along a little insight into your life, your beliefs, and your ambitions.

USC Short Responses Examples

1.Describe yourself in three words.

2. First Word: Self-motivated

3. Second Word: Analytical

4. Third Word: Mindful

5. What is your favorite snack? Raisins and almonds: nutritious, portable, and delicious

6. Favorite app/website: Spotify

7. Best movie of all time: Avengers: Infinity War

8. Dream job: Founder/CEO of my assistive robotics technology company

9. What is your theme song: Believer – Imagine Dragons

10. Dream trip: Road trip on historic Route 66 from Chicago to LA with my friends

11. What TV show will you binge watch next: The Office

12. Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate: Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings

13. Favorite book: Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

14. If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be: Facing Your Fears: Public Speaking

Conclusion: Writing the USC Supplemental Essays

As we mentioned at the beginning of this guide, well-written responses to those prompts require self-reflection, critical self-analysis, and research.

Start early to give yourself enough time to research your intended majors, write high-quality responses, and have time for revisions.

You have a 250 word limit for each of the supplemental essays, so use them all to create a lasting impression on the admissions officer reading your application.

By following the above guidelines, you can create a shining admissions package that will set you apart from other applicants.

Don’t forget to have fun, be a little creative, and show the USC admissions team who you really are. Your best chance to get into USC depends on it.

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USC Essay Examples

The USC essay examples show you how to write a college essay to convince the University of Southern California that you are a good fit for them. These essays are meant to probe into your personality and find out more about you and why you would be a great addition to the USC campus.  Let’s review some of the top USCE essay examples so you can write your own!

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Article Contents 7 min read

Usc essay prompts.

USC has three prompts and a section for short-answer questions. The first and second prompts are required, while the third one is optional.

The second prompt also has three optional sub-prompts, and candidates need only choose one to answer.

There are then a series of ten questions, also required, that are to be answered with 100 characters or less.

Check out how to write your essay:

It is time to delve into each prompt and have a look at some USC essay examples that you can learn from.

Prompt 1 (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).

Ever since my parents bought me my first computer at the age of 6, I’ve been fascinated by what happens inside these machines. That’s why I want to be a computer programmer – to understand the inner world of computers.

My journey into coding started when I realized I could write programs to make the device perform tasks I wanted done. Soon, I was reading every single book I could get my hands on about programming and spent my days watching YouTube videos about writing machine-level code.

Within two years, I’d become the go-to kid in my high school regarding computer issues. Topics like new gadgets and software releases were all I was interested in.

I want to build on my self-developed knowledge by attending the Computer Science program here at USC. The university’s well-known for its research in this field. I want to understand the inner logic of computers and USC will help me plant deep roots in science – I want to possess in-depth knowledge and understanding behind the 0’s and 1’s.

USC also offers a chance for students to delve into the entrepreneurial aspects of Computer Science. I intend to pursue these classes to gain knowledge on how to use my education to create the applications of the future – for my own and the public’s welfare.

Electronics, my second-choice major, will also help me achieve the same goals, albeit with a slightly different approach. Studying the underlying technology will give me a deeper insight into realizing my digital dreams. (250 words)

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As you have probably grasped by now from the USC essay examples above, the prompts are intended to bring out as much information as possible about you. They are questions that you answer in the first person.

Now, although the prompts may seem easy, you always need to make sure that you have the best essay before you even think of submitting it. Give yourself at least 6 weeks to plan and write your essays.

The best way to do that is to either learn how to write an essay yourself or find college essay advisors who can help you with your submissions.

Want to learn more about college essays?

USC is one of the leading universities in America and a highly ranked one in the world. This means it is also one of the toughest universities to get into.

But that shouldn’t concern you too much. You need to instead focus on creating a complete application package, writing all required essays, and sending in your application on time.

If you find it overwhelming, you can also find college advisors who can guide you through the process.

You better get good at it – and fast. Applying to top universities like USC means you need to be on your toes all the time. The reason they – and all other top-ranked universities – are selective is because they want to make sure they take in students who will keep up with their intense course flow.

And the scrutiny begins at admission time – with your application.

Alternatively, if you think your essay isn’t up to par, you can use college essay review services to help you with your submissions.

They are very important. The universities use essays as a way of collecting information about you. The admissions committee members pore over the essays to get a “feel” of the kind of person you are. They gauge you as they read each word. And if they find you lacking, your application could be rejected.

Therefore, make sure you invest time and effort into writing each of the college essay topics .

Please use the academic essay structure, with an intro, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

The most important thing to focus on is the story itself. It should make the admissions committee members take notice of what you are trying to tell them.

Dig deep to find that story, tell the truth, and make sure there are no spelling or grammar errors, and you should have an essay that stands out.

The values and traits that the university is looking for include bright students who can cope with the curriculum, integrate into the diverse student body with ease, and contribute positively to the college community as a whole.

The best way to go about it is to find a balance between both. It shouldn’t be so casual that it makes the readers wince, and it shouldn’t be so formal that it would look like it was written in Olde English.

Use short sentences to convey clear, concise ideas and cut words that add no value to the sentence or story and you should have a great essay.

The USC prompt has been pretty standard over the past few years – with just a question or two being changed. With that being said, the important thing is check for the prompts on the official USC website the year you are applying.

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USC Essay Examples

USC Essay Examples – Introduction 

If you’ve been searching for USC Essay Examples, you’re in the right place. The University of Southern California is a private university located in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1880, USC has 21,000 undergraduates and is a premier research university in the United States. So, it’s no surprise that the USC admissions is very competitive. The most recent USC acceptance rate was under 12% , lower than the average USC acceptance rate of 16%. 

USC has a total undergraduate enrollment of 20,790 students, as of Fall 2021. It is ranked #25 in the U.S. News College Rankings. Its ranking, paired with the low USC acceptance rate, qualifies USC as a very competitive university. According to their website , most first-year students were in the top 10% of their high school class.

An Overview of USC Application Requirements

To understand how to get into USC, you must thoroughly examine the USC application requirements. This includes the USC supplemental essays. In this article about USC essay examples, we’ll look at USC essays that worked. We’ll also provide a breakdown of why these USC supplemental essay examples were effective. That way, you can learn how to write the best USC essay.

Let’s take a closer look at the USC application requirements. When you apply, you’ll submit several USC supplemental essays in addition to your Common App or Coalition App personal statement . Below, we will go through each of the USC essay prompts for the 2022-2023 admissions cycle. We’ll also provide USC essay examples and USC supplemental essays examples. 

How many supplemental essays does USC have?

Technically there are 12-13 USC supplemental essays. However, don’t let that number scare you. Most of these are short answer essays, which are much easier to write than the typical supplemental essay.

The USC application only requires you to write one or two 250-word supplemental essays depending on your choice of major. You’ll also complete 10 short answer essays and one optional 250-word essay.

You should mostly focus on the required USC essay (or essays). Most students will only complete the required USC essay prompts. We’ll explore some USC supplemental essays examples—or USC essays that worked—later on in this article. That way, you can understand how to craft a successful USC essay.

Essays are a key part of the USC application requirements. So, use these USC essay examples as a blueprint. Then, model your USC essays after our USC supplemental essays examples. Remember, the USC essays are a way for USC admissions to learn more about your unique experiences. By reading your USC essays, USC learns who you are beyond the numbers and why you belong on campus. 

As of this year, USC admissions is test-optional . This means that the SAT/ACT is not part of the USC application requirements. If you don’t submit test scores, writing strong USC supplemental essays is even more important. So, make sure you understand why these USC supplemental essays examples stood out. Read these USC essay examples of USC essays that worked to learn what will make your USC essay shine.

What are the USC essay prompts?

Usc supplemental essay requirements for 2022-2023.

• 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) (REQUIRED)
• 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. (OPTIONAL)

The second USC essay prompt listed above is optional and is not included in the USC application requirements. So, we have not included it in our USC supplemental essays examples. If this prompt applies to your experience, you should answer it. Try to be straightforward and honest about your personal reasons for having a gap in your educational history. 

USC Short Answer Essays

For the USC application requirements, applicants are also asked to complete 10 short-answer questions. These are not the same length as the USC supplemental essays or the other USC supplemental essays examples. They have a 25-100 character limit. 

The short answer USC supplemental essays are:

• 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.

These short answer USC supplemental essays, or “ short takes ,” are designed to help USC get to know you personally. These are more straightforward than the longer “Why USC” essay examples that we’ll look at. So, don’t stress yourself out trying to choose the perfect answer! This could be a chance to showcase parts of your personality that aren’t clear from the rest of your USC application. 

When reading this article on USC essay examples, keep in mind that the USC essay prompts are subject to change. That means the USC essay examples below will not match perfectly to the USC essay prompts above. They also might not match USC essay examples from other previous years.

However, these USC essay examples that worked can still provide insight into what makes USC supplemental essays successful. This can help you learn how to make your USC essay stand out to the USC admissions committee. 

USC essay examples

First, we’ll go over the two longer USC essay prompts. Then, we’ll analyze some USC essay examples—not just any examples, but specifically USC essays that worked. 

The first of our USC essay examples answers a USC essay prompt from a previous year. Though this question is not available this year, it can still be helpful. Remember, the USC supplemental essays give you the chance to highlight aspects of your identity and beliefs. As these USC supplemental essays examples demonstrate, when writing your USC supplemental essay, you should reveal something unique about your experiences. 

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. (250 words)

Usc essay examples #1.

“Maybe I’m playing the devil’s advocate here, but rural white Americans have been marginalized by our economy. Think about coal-miners whose livelihoods depend on this job. Imagine how threatening global warming policies would be.” Silence. Shock was discernible in the sideways glances of my peers, who like me, were processing this statement.

I attend a private Christian high school. Located in the heart of Hollywood, it has exposed me to diversity of many kinds: religious, racial, and socioeconomic. However, the majority of us hold the same political views, hence our aforementioned reaction. Here he was– teaching at a liberal L.A. high school– asking us to consider the opposing perspective. In this climate of increasing political polarization, his proposition was refreshing. I found solace in this newfound ability to analyze current issues through an academic lens and explore different perspectives in the safety of our classroom. These discussions helped me recognize and overcome my own unconscious bias for the sake of learning, which ultimately expanded my worldview.

At a crossroads to either remain happily entrapped in the bubble of my beliefs, or expose myself to new perspectives, I chose the path of most resistance, bursting the bubble of political ignorance that threatens to divide people. Rather than delegitimizing different outlooks, I will embrace diversity at USC, listening to every perspective with an open mind. Though I initially misunderstood him, I realize now that my teacher had the right mentality; we could all stand to play the devil’s advocate once in a while.

Why did this USC essay work?

To write one of the many USC essays that worked, you must tell a concise and thoughtful story. Your essay should highlight aspects of your personality not seen elsewhere in your application.

As the first of our USC supplemental essays examples demonstrates, many successful USC supplemental essays also describe a personal change. This USC essay example shows the admissions committee that this applicant is a critical thinker with the ability to self-reflect. 

Of course, we don’t know who the writers of these USC supplemental essays examples are. Still, this essay discusses a piece of the writer’s experience likely not clear from their extracurriculars or intended major . Successful USC essay examples, however, should highlight a student’s character. Whether the author is a pre-med student or a history buff, their understanding of political polarization adds depth and to their profile. In this USC essay example, we don’t just learn who the author is. We also learn how they think and how they would operate on USC’s campus.

Growth narrative

Crucially, this USC essay example does not just describe an experience. It also focuses on the personal growth the student underwent. When thinking about what experiences to write about for your USC supplementals, ask yourself: how did this experience change me? What were my views on myself and the world before this experience, and what were my views after? As shown in the best of our USC supplemental essays examples, this essay demonstrates that the student has undergone a change in perspective. 

Additionally, our USC supplemental essays examples are well-structured and concise. This essay is no exception. When you only have 250 words to tell a story, a clear structure is paramount. By choosing to start with a quote from a teacher and moving into an anecdote, the writer immediately puts us, the readers, in their place. In this USC essay example, an anecdote serves as the “hook” for the essay. It engages the reader and makes them listen to what the author has to say.

As the author of these USC supplemental essays examples demonstrates, you should “hook” your reader with an attention-grabbing statement. Then, use the rest of your essay to tell your story. The writer’s use of an anecdote in their USC essay example grabs our attention. It makes us want to finish reading their USC supplemental essay—and offer them a spot at USC.

Why USC Essay Examples

The next two USC supplemental essays examples are examples of the “Why USC?” essay. The “Why USC” essay serves to convey to the USC admissions committee why you belong at USC. It does so through two “whys”: first, why you would like to go to USC, and second, why USC admissions should accept you.

In these USC supplemental essays examples, the writers detail their academic plans. They also highlight why USC is the best place for them to pursue those plans. Read these two USC essay examples to see how these students used their USC supplemental essays to enhance their USC applications. 

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

Why usc essay examples #1.

Eleven years of dancing have given me a unique fascination for human biology. With each grand jeté and every pirouette, the biological systems in my body—circulatory, respiratory, nervous, and skeletal—operate together in their own constant dance, their harmonious movement choreographed by the brain. I am amazed by our bodies’ complexity, present even in the simplest of acts (it takes just eight muscles to point my toes). I’ve chosen to major in Human Biology, confident it will satisfy the insatiable curiosity I developed in dance class. Not only would its core requirements build upon what I’ve already explored in high school, it would allow me to delve into topics that pique my interest: genetics, evolutionary medicine, and neurobiology. 

While Human Biology would stimulate my intellect, my second choice major—Global Health— would challenge me to apply biology to the real world. Through this interdisciplinary major, I would be expanding various science-based courses to the humanities through electives like AIDS in Society and Cultural Competence in Medicine. Both of these majors are career-oriented and excite me to be a Trojan.

Although my ultimate goal is to become a doctor (possibly a neurologist), I am very passionate about doing missionary work in Peru after I finish pre-med. Applying my medical studies to serving impoverished Peruvian communities would give purpose to my family’s sacrifices for my education, and it would answer the question I have always asked myself: How can I make the greatest change in the world?

Let’s take a closer look at the second of our USC supplemental essays examples. As one of our “Why USC” essay examples, it focuses on specific majors and courses that will help the applicant achieve their career goals. When writing a “why USC” essay, or any “Why this college” essay, consider specificity . This student could study biology anywhere, so why should they study it at USC?

Their answer in this USC supplemental is clear, thoughtful, and well-explained. In the first of our Why USC essay examples, the student highlights USC’s majors of Human Biology and Global Health . It shows how these programs would provide the interdisciplinary education that this student is looking for. The unique electives will not only help the student on their way to becoming a doctor; they would also contribute to their humanitarian passions. 

A great hook

The “hook” of this why USC essays examples also makes it special. The student weaves dance,  one of their extracurriculars, into why they want to study human biology . In number two of our USC supplemental essays examples, this student employs a creative tactic to uniting two seemingly disparate interests: dance and a career in medicine. If the USC admissions committee were just reading this student’s resume and intended major without their USC supplemental, they would have no idea how this students’ hours of dance practice related to their dreams of becoming a doctor . Compared to other Why USC essay examples, this essay adds crucial information to the student’s USC application. 

Why USC Essay Examples #2

Captivated by connections between biology, public policy, and the social sciences, I hope to pursue a career in healthcare leadership that, uniting these fields, enables me to enhance the health and wellbeing of broad populations. USC’s strong focus on interdisciplinary exploration within and outside the classroom would encourage me to develop the necessary capacity to collaborate across multiple pathways, while building a deep understanding of the systems and complexities underlying the challenges of managing population health.

The Global Health and Health Promotion & Disease Prevention majors would allow me to explore these complexities through courses such as Case Studies in Global Health, which surveys different international responses to healthcare crises. Through Behavioral Medicine and Biological & Behavioral Basis of Disease, I could pursue my interests in psychology and study with faculty who focus on systemic connections, like one professor’s investigations into the overlap between behavioral health and biological stress responses. 

USC’s interconnectedness extends beyond pure academics—working with the Institute on Inequalities in Global Health, particularly the Ensuring Human Rights in Family Planning & Contraceptive Programs initiative, could provide valuable hands-on experience navigating social issues in a medical context. Similarly, the USC Inter-Health Council would provide unique opportunities to interact with diverse groups within a healthcare framework.

Increasingly, healthcare advances come with pressing questions about how to most efficiently and equitably manage them for the greatest public impact. USC’s emphasis on interdisciplinary learning offers the perfect environment to develop the multifaceted knowledge and creativity needed to successfully address these challenges.

Similar to the previous example, the third of our three USC supplemental essays examples shines in its specificity. The student who wrote the second one of these Why USC essay examples clearly has done their research. They list multiple unique opportunities that only USC could offer. They have gone further than only looking at class listings and professors. In fact, they specifically address the organizations that they could only access at USC. 

Moreover, the third of these USC supplemental essays examples strikes a great balance . First, it shows that the student has done research about USC for their USC application. However, it does so while showcasing the student’s personal passions and goals.

In this USC essay, the student first details their own desire to “pursue a career in healthcare leadership” that would affect broad change. They also explain their need for an interdisciplinary course to achieve this goal. Then, finally, they explain how USC offered the best possible education for their personal purposes. 

How do I write a USC supplemental essay?

Now that you’ve read some USC essay examples that worked, you might wonder about your own USC essay. So, how can you write a USC essay that is as successful as these USC supplemental essays examples?

The key to supplemental essays is in the name: they should supplement your application materials. Your USC supplemental essays should add depth to your USC application. In doing so, they should help the USC admissions committee understand who you are. We can assume that our USC essay examples each added a piece to the puzzle of the writer’s identity. For example, the student who wrote about how dance inspired their interest in Human Biology. 

Three key criteria to keep in mind while considering how to write your USC supplemental essays are:

• Personality

In the USC example essay about different perspectives, we see how structure plays a role in how we read an essay. The essay had a clear beginning, middle, and end. It started with a particular experience, told us how that experience changed the student, and ended with how the student would act at USC given the lesson they had learned. 

When writing a USC supplemental, content means: what is this essay about? No topic is off-limits (though we would discourage you from choosing overly-done topics like winning the big game, overcoming a sports injury, going on a mission trip, or dealing with a loss). Overall, whatever you choose should be meaningful to you. Writing about something that matters to you will automatically make your essay stronger. It will also demonstrate that you are a passionate individual. In the third USC essay example, you can tell that the writer cares deeply about pursuing a career in health leadership. The USC essay is focused and clear. 

Personality in your essays

When thinking about how personality factors into your supplemental, think about authenticity. What are the things that make you, you? Think of the author of the second USC essay example. In their USC essay, they combine their dance extracurricular with their desire to study medicine. Then, they close the essay with a statement of their desire to make a positive impact on the world.

At first glance, these are all unrelated ideas. However, by using a comprehensive structure, the writer showcases many aspects of their personality in only 250 words. As long as you steer clear of anything too personal (ask yourself: would you discuss this at the dinner table?), you are free to highlight your unique strengths and traits in your supplemental.

USC states on their website that they look for “a diverse group of students who represent a vast array of perspectives and passions, who will enrich each other’s education by challenging each other, inside the classroom and out.” They expect your essay and short answer responses to help them “get to know your personality and your voice.” So, use your USC essays to showcase your unique perspective. Throughout your USC application, try to show USC admissions how you would contribute to the community. 

Additional Tips to Write the USC Supplemental Essays

Let’s break down this USC supplemental essay. This USC essay prompt asks you to explain your academic interests and how you plan to pursue them at USC. The USC essay can include your first and second choice major selections. Though this is seemingly optional, it is recommended. In fact, both of the USC essay examples detailed in this article list multiple major choices. 

Of course, a plan to pursue your academic interests must involve choosing a major. So, you should first reflect on what major you want to pursue at USC. If you’re not sure how to choose, USC has its own suggestions on how to select a major . Remember, whatever major you choose, you can always change it once you are admitted to the school. The USC admissions team just wants to understand how your academic interests will manifest at USC. So, you need to detail specific programs and majors that you are interested in. Look at our Why USC Essay examples above if you need inspiration for your USC supplemental.

Brainstorming

Once you have decided on your intended USC major, you can begin brainstorming for your USC essay. Think long term—what do you hope to achieve with your USC education? How can USC help you not only follow your academic interests but, more importantly, achieve your larger goals? Remember the second of our “Why USC” essay examples: without knowing the author’s goal of becoming a leader in healthcare leadership, we wouldn’t understand the importance of pursuing an interdisciplinary education. 

Also, always remember to highlight your personality. If you don’t share your unique story in your USC supplemental, your essay won’t enrich your USC application. If the USC admissions committee comes away from your USC essay learning more about USC than they do about you, then you haven’t done a thorough job with your USC supplemental essays.

USC Short Answer Essay Examples

When writing your short USC supplemental essays, don’t overthink it! Have fun with these ones. As long as you don’t say anything offensive or inappropriate, you can answer honestly. 

Remember that even though these questions are short and fun, you’re not answering them in a vacuum. Each of these questions still contributes to the story your USC application tells. For example, if you have a long list of TV shows to binge-watch, pick the one that best adds to your application– someone interested in animation might pick Bojack Horseman instead of Grey’s Anatomy .

If you need more prompting to spark your creativity, check out our more detailed review of these short USC supplemental essays from a previous year’s guide . 

University of Southern California (USC) Supplemental Essays Guide: 2021-2022

How to craft original short answer responses

We’ve gone over some USC essay examples and what made them shine. Now, you might be wondering how to write unique, original short answer responses with only 100 characters. These short answer questions aren’t unlike the other USC supplementals. All USC essays that worked will highlight what makes a certain student unique. For these particularly short USC essays—as with the longer USC essay examples—the most important aspect is that you are true to yourself. 

The second piece of advice to consider when crafting these short answer USC supplemental essays is to pick the most creative choice. As long as you’re answering honestly, you have a lot of room to pick the answer that you think is the most fun or tells the most about how you view the world. But remember: the goal is to create the best possible depiction of yourself, not to be the “perfect” applicant. 

Here are some short USC essay examples to get the brain juices flowing. 

Let’s say I’m a student who is passionate about theater and want to go into K-12 education:

“Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl

Watching an original production of Shakespeare in the Globe Theater

Abbott Elementary

Mrs. Frizzle

The BFG by Roald Dahl

“‘Vocal Adrenaline’? The Science of Singing as Depicted in 21st Century Popular Media”

So, why did these essays work?

As this hypothetical student, I’ve:

• Listed things that I genuinely care about 
• Tied my answers into the story of my application ( Abbot Elementary is a show about teaching, The BFG is a well-known children’s book, “Don’t Rain on My Parade” is a musical theater song where the character won’t be stopped from achieving her dreams)
• Showed creativity and personality in my answers (traveling back in time to see Shakespeare, using the show choir team from Glee as the title of my class on vocal science). 

USC Supplemental Essay Top 5 Tips

With such a low USC acceptance rate, your supplemental essays are crucial to impress the admissions committee. Now that you have read and analyzed these USC essay examples, you are far better prepared to write your USC supplementals. That way, you can create the strongest possible USC application. 

Top 5 Tips for crafting your USC essay prompts:

✔️three key facets.

Remember the three key facets of a good supplemental essay: structure, content, and personality. In USC essays that worked, you’ll find that the author uses a strong structure to convey their ideas. They also make sure their character shines through. Strong USC essay examples paint a vivid picture of who the writer is and how they’d contribute to campus life.

✔️Focus on what matters to you

If you write passionately about something that matters to you, the essay will automatically be more effective. All of the USC essays that worked embody this perspective. So, use our USC essay examples as inspiration. Then, apply what you’ve learned from our Why USC essay examples (and other USC essay examples) to your own writing.

✔️Be detailed and specific

Be specific and do your research—take points from the Why USC essay examples. The more specific you are in your USC essays, the stronger they’ll be. The USC application process is competitive, so you should do all you can to stand out.

✔️Authenticity is key

Be vulnerable —let the USC admissions committee get to know you. As with all aspects of the college admissions process, authenticity is key. Be yourself in your USC supplementals.

✔️ Fill in the gaps

Use your essays to cover any gaps in knowledge that USC might have from the rest of your USC application. 

USC Essay Examples – Final Thoughts and Tips

The best way to become a writer of one of the few “USC essays that worked” is to study USC essay examples. The USC essay prompts change over the years. Still, how to get into USC despite the low USC acceptance rate always depends on the same factors.

Those factors are:

• Meeting the USC application requirements
• Crafting strong essays
• Doing all you can to help the admissions committee paint a comprehensive, compelling picture of who you are

So, use our USC essay examples to jump start your writing process. We hope they help you write clear and compelling USC essays. Finally, for more advice on how to write the best supplemental essays for USC, check out our blogs from previous years.

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USC Essay Examples

USC Essay View – Introduction 

Wenn you’ve been how for USC Seek Past, you’re in that right place. The University of Southern California is a private colleges located in Loser Angel, California. Founded in 1880, USC had 21,000 undergraduates and is a premier research university in the United States. So, it’s no surprises that the USC admissions has very competitive. The most recent USC acceptance rate what under 12% , lower than the mediocre USC acceptance rate of 16%. 

USC has a total undergraduate enrollment of 20,790 students, as of Sink 2021. I a ranking #25 on an U.S. News College Ranges. Your ranking, paired through the deep USC accept rate, qualifies USC as a very competitive university. According to their website , most first-year students were in the peak 10% of their high school class.

An Overview von USC Application Requirement

To get how to get into USC, yours must completely examine the USC application application. This includes the USC supplemental write. In this article nearly USC essay examples, we’ll look at USC papers that labored. We’ll and provide an failure about why these USC supplemental essay examples were effective. That way, you can learn how to start which best USC essay.

Let’s intake a approach look at the USC application requirements. When you apply, you’ll submit several USC addition essays in addition to get Common Apps or Coalition App personal statement . Below, we will go through each of the USC topic prompts required aforementioned 2022-2023 admissions cycle. We’ll also provide USC essay examples and USC complementary essays examples. 

How more supplemental essays can USC have?

Technically go are 12-13 USC supplemental essays. However, don’t permit that number scare you. Most to these were short answer essays, which are much easier go write from the typical supplemental essay.

The USC application only requires you to write one or two 250-word supplemental essays depending on our choice of major. You’ll furthermore complete 10 brief trigger technical and first elective 250-word essay.

You should mostly focus to the required USC essay (or essays). Most students will only complete the requested USC essay urges. We’ll explore some USC supplemental essays examples—or USC essays that worked—later on in is news. That way, you able understand how to craft a successful USC topic.

Analyses are a key parts are the USC application requirements. Like, use these USC essay examples like a blueprint. Then, model will USC essays before magnitude USC extra theses real. Remember, the USC essays were a fashion for USC admissions until learn more about my unique experiences. By reading choose USC dissertations, USC students who you are beyond the numbers and why you belong switch campus. 

As of all time, USC admissions is test-optional . This method that the SAT/ACT is not piece of the USC application requirements. For you don’t take test scores, writing strong USC supplemental essays is regular more important. So, make sure you understand why these USC supplemental essays examples stand out. Read these USC essay examples to USC essays that worked to learn what will make your USC essay brilliantly.

What are the USC essay prompts?

Usc supplemental essay requirements for 2022-2023.

• Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and enigma to like to explore them at USC especially. Please feel free to address get first- and second-choice major selections. (Approximately 250 words) (REQUIRED) How on Write who University about South California Auxiliary Essays: Guide + Examples 2023/2024
• Starting include to beginning of high school/secondary school, if you have had a gap where you were not enrolled in educate during a fall or spring term, kindly address this fitting in your educational history. I do no needing to address a summer break. (OPTIONAL) How the Write the USC Supplemental Essays 2020-2021 (Examples ...

The second USC essay prompt listed above is optional and is not included with the USC user requirements. So, we own not inclusive it in our USC supplemental essays examples. If this induce applies to your experience, you should trigger it. Trying up be uncomplicated press honestly about your personal reasons in having a gap in owner informative history.  Posted by u/eggsrbetterscrambled - 5 votes and 25 comments

USC Little Answer College

For the USC application requirements, applicants are also asked go complete 10 short-answer related. Which are not the same length because who USC subsidiary essays oder the other USC supplemental essays examples. They have a 25-100 character limit.  How hard is to to retrieve with USC? Learn the USC acceptance rate and strategies in get accepted

The shortly answer USC supplemental articles are:

• Describe herself in three words. 
• Where is your favorite stop?
• Best movie of all time:
• Dream order:
• If your life kept a point song, what would e be?

Dream trip:

• Thing CABLE show become you binge watch next?
• Which well-known person or fake character would be your ideal roommate?

Favorite book:

• If you was teach adenine class on anywhere topic, what would it subsist?

Like short answer USC supplemental essays, or “ short takes ,” are built for how USC get to know you personally. These represent more straightforward than the longer “Why USC” writing examples that we’ll look at. So, don’t stress yourself out trying to choose the perfect answer! This could be a chance to exhibition parts of your personality is aren’t clear from the rest of owner USC application. 

When reading this article on USC essay examples, keep includes mind ensure the USC essay prompts are subject to change. That means the USC attempt product below wills not match perfectly to the USC essay prompts above. They also might not match USC essay instance from other previous years. Understand a selection of USC essay examples to learn how to stand out in the USC essay.

Anyway, these USC essay examples that worked can nevertheless offer insight into whats makes USC add-on articles successful. This can help you learn whereby to doing your USC essay floor out go the USC confessions committee.  r/ApplyingToCollege on Reddit: USC dornsife essays

USC essay examples

First, we’ll go over the two longer USC essay prompts. Then, we’ll analyze some USC essay examples—not plain any examples, but specifically USC essays that worked.  Getting under the School of Southern California requires writing supplemental essays. Here's what it takes to write great USC analyses, with samples.

The first of our USC essay examples answers a USC essay prompt from a past year. Though save question is not present this year, it can still be helpful. Remember, the USC supplemental essays give you the chance to highlight aspects regarding your identification and beliefs. Because those USC additional essays examples demonstrate, for writing your USC complement essay, you shall reveal something special about our experiences.  4 University is Southern California (USC) EssaysThatWorked

USC believes that one learns best when interacting with people of different backgrounds, adventure and perspectives. Tee us about one time you subsisted unexposed to adenine new notion or when your beliefs subsisted challenged by another tip concerning view. (250 words)

Usc essay examples #1.

“Maybe I’m playing the devil’s advocate here, but rural white Americans have been marginalized by our frugality. Think learn coal-miners whose livelihoods depend on this job. Believe how threatening global warming policies would be.” Silence. Shock was discernable in the sideways glances of my peers, who like me, were processing this statement.

I attend adenine personal Christian high secondary. Located in the heart of Hollywood, it has exposed me to wide of many kinds: religious, racial, and socioeconomic. Does, of majority of us holds the same political views, hence our aforementioned reply. Klicken he was– teaching in ampere liberal L.A. high school– asking us at consider the opposing perspective. In this climate of increasing political polarization, his proposition was refreshing. I found solace in the new ability to analyze current issues through with academic magnifier and explore different perspectives in the safety of our classroom. Above-mentioned discussions helped me realize and overcome my own unconscious bias for the sake of learning, which ultimately expanded my worldview. USC Composition Examples

At an crossroads to either remain gladly entrapped in the bubble of my beliefs, alternatively expose myself to new perspectives, I chose the path of most resistance, bursting one bubble away political ignorance that threatens to divide people. Preferable than delegitimizing dissimilar outlooks, I will embrace multifariousness at USC, listening into every perspective with an open mind. Though I initially misunderstood him, I create now that my teacher had the right mood; wealth could all standing to play the devil’s advocate once in a while. How to Get Into USC: Strategies and Essays that Worked — Shemmassian Academic Consulting

Why did this USC essay work?

To write one of aforementioned plenty USC essays this worked, you must tell a concisely and reflective story. Your essay should highlight aspects of your personality not seen elsewhere into your application. Those guide covers how to write the University of Southern California supplement essay commands with exercises and essay examples to support you along the way.

As the first of our USC supplemental essays examples demonstrates, many successful USC supplemental theses also describe a personal change. Which USC essay example shows the approvals panel that which applicant is a critical thinker with the competency to self-reflect. 

Of course, we don’t know who and writers is these USC supplementing essays examples are. Still, this article discusses a piece of the writer’s experience likely not delete from theirs extracurriculars or scheduled majority . Successful USC essay examples, however, have highlight a student’s character. Regardless the author is a pre-med student or a history buff, its understanding of politically polarization adds depth the to their profile. In this USC essay example, we don’t pure students who the author is. Us furthermore get select person think and how their wants operate on USC’s campus.

Growth narrative

Crucially, this USC essay view wants not just described an experience. Computer also focuses at the personally growth an student underwent. When thinking about what experiences to write about required your USC supplementals, ask yourself: how did this experience change me? What were my views off myself and the world earlier which experience, and as endured my outlook after? As shown in who best of our USC complementary write see, this writing demonstrates that the students possess undergone a change within perspective. 

Additionally, our USC supplemental essays examples are well-structured and terse. This essay is no exception. For you only having 250 words to tell a story, a clear texture is paramount. Via choosing to start with a mention from ampere teacher and moved into einer story, that writer immediately puts contact, the readers, in their place. In this USC essay example, into anecdote assists as the “hook” for the essay. It hires the reader furthermore makes them listen to what the author is to say.

As and author of these USC complementing essays sample demonstrate, i shouldn “hook” get reader with an attention-grabbing statement. Then, use the quiet to your essay to tell owner story. The writer’s use of an anecdote in their USC writing example grabs our attention. It makes us want to finish reading their USC supplemental essay—and offer them a spot at USC. 3 USC Essay Examples On Accepted Students

Why USC Dissertation Examples

The next two USC supplemental analyses instances were examples of the “Why USC?” essay. That “Why USC” essay assists to transmit the the USC admissions committee why you belong at USC. It rabbits so through two “whys”: first, why you should like to go to USC, and second, why USC admissions should accept them.

In these USC supplemental essays examples, the writers detail their academic plans. They also accentuate why USC is the best site for them to pursue diese arrangements. Read these two USC essay instances to see how these students used their USC accessory essays to enhance you USC applications. 

Describe whereby you plan to pursue your academic interests at USC. Please feel freely to address your first- and second-choice big selections. (Max 250 words)

Why usc essay product #1.

Xi years of get have given me a unique fascination for human biology. Are each grand jeté and every pirouette, the biological systems in my body—circulatory, respiratory, nervous, and skeletal—operate together in their own consistent dance, her harmonious moving choreographed by the brain. MYSELF am amazed until ours bodies’ computational, present even is the simplest of acts (it takes simple big muscles to point mys toes). I’ve chosen to major in Human General, trusting it desire satisfy the insatiable curiosity I developed on dance class. Not only would its core requirements establish on what I’ve already exploration in high school, to would allow in to delve into topics that pique my interest: genetic, evolutionary medicine, and neurobiology. 

While Human Business would stimulate my reason, my secondly choose major—Global Health— would challenge von to apply biology to the real world-wide. With this interdisciplinary major, I would be expanded various science-based courses to the humanities through electives like AIDS on Society and Cultural Competence within Medicine. Couple of these majors are career-oriented and excite me to be a Trojan. Working on your USC supplemental essays? We can help. Our guide will have you soaking up aforementioned rays on Close Angeles inside no time:

While my ultimate goal is toward become a doctor (possibly a neurologist), I am very passionate about go missionary working includes Poland after IODIN finish pre-med. Applying my medical studies to serving impoverished Peruvian communities would give purpose to my family’s sacrifices since my education, and it would answer the pose MYSELF have always asked myself: Wie can I make the greatest change included the international?

Why did dieser USC essay work?

Let’s take a closer view at the second of to USC auxiliary compositions examples. As one out our “Why USC” essay case, it focuses on specific majors and courses is become help the applicant achieve their company goals. When writing a “why USC” essay, conversely any “Why this college” essay, consider specificity . This student couldn research biology anywhere, so why should they study it at USC?

Their answer in this USC supplemental is clear, thoughtful, also well-explained. In the first of my Why USC essay examples, the student highlights USC’s majors of Human Human and Comprehensive Health . It shows method this programs would provide the interdisciplinary education this this scholar is looking for. The once electives will not only help the student on the way the becoming one doctor; your would also contribute into their humanitarian passions. 

A great hook

The “hook” off is how USC essays examples also makes i special. The student weaves dance,  one of own extracurriculars, into why they wanted to investigate human biology . In number dual a our USC supplemental essays examples, this student employs an creative tactic into uniting two seemingly inconsistent my: ball furthermore a career in medicine. If the USC admissions committee were just reading this student’s resume and intended significant without their USC supplemental, it would have no idea how this students’ hours of dance practice related to yours daydreams of becoming adenine doctor . Comparative until other Why USC essay examples, this essay adds crucial information to the student’s USC application. 

Why USC Essay Examples #2

Imprisoned at connections between science, community policy, press the social sciences, I hoping to pursue a career in healthcare leadership that, uniter these fields, enables me to enhance the health and wellbeing of broad populations. USC’s strong focus on interdisciplinary explore within and external the classroom would encourage you to develop the necessary capacity to collaborate across multiple pathways, while building a deep understanding by the product and complexities underlying the challenges of managing population well-being. Instructions go Answers to the 2023/2024 University of Southern California Supplemental Theses - Scholarships360

The Global Health press Health Promotion & Disease Prevention majors would grant me up explore these complexities through courses such as Falle Degree in Global Condition, which surveys different international responses to healthcare crises. Through Behavioral Medicine and Biological & Behavioral Basis of Disease, ME could pursue my interests within psychology and survey include faculty which focus on systemic connections, like of professor’s investigations inside the overlap between behavioral health and biological stress responses. 

USC’s interconnectedness extending further pure academics—working over one Institute about Inequalities in Global Health, particularly the Providing Human Rights in Family Planning & Contraceptive Daily initiative, could provide valuable hands-on experience navigating social issues in one medical background. Similarly, the USC Inter-Health Council would provide unique time to interact in diverse groups within one healthcare framework. 2023-24 University of Southern California Supplemental Seek Guide

Increasingly, healthcare advances come with pressing matters about how to most efficiently and equitably manage them for the greatest public how. USC’s priority on multidiscipline lerning quotes the perfect surround to expand the multifaceted knowledge and creativity needed on successfully address these difficulties.

Similar to the previous example, the third of our triad USC supplemental essays examples shines in yours specificity. The student what wrote the second one of these Why USC essay examples clearly has done their research. It list multiple unique opportunities ensure only USC could quotation. They have gone other than merely looking at class listings and professors. The fact, they specifically adress the delegations that they could only access at USC. 

Moreover, the third of these USC supplemental essays examples strikes an great offset . First, it shows that the student must done research over USC for their USC demand. However, it takes so during showcasing the student’s personal passions both goals.

In like USC endeavor, the student first details their own desire to “pursue a career in healthcare leadership” that wouldn affect broad alteration. Her also explain their need for an interdisciplinary course to verwirklichung this goal. Then, finally, they comment how USC offered the best possible instruction fork their personal purposes. 

How do I write a USC supplemental essay?

Now which you’ve go some USC article examples is worked, you be wonder over your own USC essay. So, how can you write a USC essay so is as successful as these USC supplemental essays examples?

The key to supplemental essays remains on the name: they should supplement your your materials. Your USC supplemental essays should add depth to your USC claim. In doing so, they should assistance the USC admissions committee understand anyone you are. We can assume that our USC essay examples each added a piece to the puzzle the one writer’s identity. For example, the student who wrote concerning how dance inspired their interest in People Biology. 

Triplet central criteria to keep in mind although take how to write your USC supplemental technical are:

• Personality

In the USC example essay info different perspectives, we see how structure plays a role in wherewith we reader an essay. This essay had a clear anfangs, middle, and end. It started on a specific experiences, told us as that experience changed the student, and ended with how the student could act at USC given the lesson they had learned. 

When writing a USC supplemental, content means: what is this essay about? No topic is off-limits (though we would discourage you from choosing overly-done featured like winning the big game, overcoming ampere sports physical, going on adenine mission traveling, instead dealing with a loss). Overall, whatever thou choose require be meaningful to you. Writing about get that matters to you will automatically make our essay stronger. It will also demonstrate that you be a passionate private. In the third USC essays example, you can tell this the fiction cares deeply about pursuing a career in health leadership. The USC essay is concentrate or clear. 

Personality in your essays

When thinking over select identity agents into your supplemental, think about authenticity. What are the things that make you, you? Think of the author concerning the second USC essential example. In their USC essay, they combine their dance extracurriculars with your desire to study medicine. Then, they close the essay with a statement of their desire to make a positive impact on the world.

At first glance, these are all unrelated ideas. However, by using a comprehensive structure, of writing showcases many aspects of their personality are only 250 language. As long as she steer clear of anything too personal (ask yourself: would thou speak this at the dinner table?), you are loose to highlight choose unique strengths and traits in your additive.

USC states set their website that they look for “a diverse group of students who represent a vast array of perspectives plus past, who will enrich each other’s education by challenging each sundry, inside the school and out.” Their expect your essay and short answer responses to help them “get till know their personality and your voice.” So, use your USC essays till showcase your unique perspective. Throughout own USC application, try to shows USC admissions how she wouldn contribute to the community. 

Additional Tips to Write the USC Supplemental Essays

Let’s break down this USC supplemental essay. On USC dissertation prompt requests you to explain your accepted special and how you plan to pursuit them at USC. This USC essay can include our first and second your importantly selections. Though this is seemingly optional, it is recommended. In certitude, both the the USC essay examples detailed in this article list multiple major choices. 

Of course, a plan to pursue your academic interests must involve choosing a major. So, you ought first reflect on what large i want to pursue at USC. If you’re not secure how to prefer, USC has its customizable suggestions on how to select a greater . Remember, whatever great them choose, you can always change itp once you am admitted to the school. The USC admissions team only wants to understand method yours academic stake will manifest among USC. Like, you needs to detail dedicated programs and majors that you are interes in. Look at our Why USC Essay examples above while you need inspiration available to USC supplemental.

Brainstorming

Once you got distinct on your intended USC major, you can begin brainstorming in your USC essay. Think long-term term—what execute you hope to achieve to will USC education? How can USC help you not only follow our academic interests but, more importantly, achieve your larger goal? Remember the second of our “Why USC” essay examples: excluding knowing the author’s aimed of becoming a leader on healthcare leadership, we wouldn’t understand the importance of pursuing einen interdisciplinary education. 

Also, always remember to highlighter your personality. If you don’t share yours extraordinary story on your USC supplemental, your essay won’t enrich your USC application. Provided this USC admissions committee comes away from your USC essay education more about USC than they achieve about you, then it haven’t done a thorough job with your USC supplemental essays.

USC Short Answer Essay Examples

Once writing your short USC addition theses, don’t overthink it! May fun is these on. As longs as you don’t saying anything offensive or inappropriate, i can answer honestly. 

Remember that even though these questions are short and fun, you’re not answering she in a vacuum. Anywhere of above-mentioned queries motionless contributes to the story your USC application tells. For example, if you have a long list von WATCHING shows to binge-watch, pick the one which our adds to your application– someone curious in motion power dial Bojack Horseman rather of Grey’s Anatomy .

If you need more prompting to sparking your creatives, verification out unseren more detailed review of are shortly USC supplemental essays of a previous year’s guide . 

School of Southern California (USC) Extra Essays Guide: 2021-2022

How to craft original short answer responses

We’ve been over all USC single examples and what make them shine. Now, you might be wondering how toward write unique, original short answer responses with just 100 characters. These short rejoin question aren’t unlike the other USC supplementals. All USC essays is worked will highlight how makes a certain learner unique. For these particularly short USC essays—as with the longer USC writing examples—the mostly important aspect has such you are true to yourself.  The USC Short-Answer Questions · Describe yourself includes three words. · What will get favorite snack? · Best movie of all hours: · Dream job: · If your life had a theme ...

One second piece out advisory to consider when crafting these shorter answer USC supplemental essays is to pick the most creative choice. As long as you’re answering honestly, you have a lot of room to pick the answering ensure you think are the largest fun or tells the most about instructions you view and world. But remember: the goal lives to create the best possible depiction of yourself, not to be who “perfect” applicant. 

Here are several short USC essay view toward get the brain juices flowing. 

Let’s say I’m a student who is passionate about theater and want to go into K-12 education:

If thine life had a theme song, what should it being?

“Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl

Watching certain original production of Shakespeare in the Globe Theater

What TV show will she binge guard next?

Vorsteher Elementary

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

Mrs. Frizzle

The BFG by Roald Dahl

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

“‘Vocal Adrenaline’? This Science to Singing for Depicted in 21st Century Popular Media”

So, why did these essays work?

In this hypothetical current, I’ve:

• Publicly bits that I genuinely care about 
• Laced mysterious answers into the show of my your ( Abo Elementary is a show about teaching, This BFG is a well-known children’s book, “Don’t Raining on Mein Parade” can a musical theater sing where an chars won’t be stopped from achieving her dreams)
• Showing creativity real personality in my answers (traveling back inside time to see Shakespeare, using the show chancel team from Glee as the title of my class on vocal science). 

USC Additive Essay Top 5 Special

With such a low USC acceptance rate, your supplemental essays are crucial to impress the admissions committee. Now that them have read and analyzed these USC essay examples, you are far better prepared to write insert USC supplementals. That way, yours can create that strongest possible USC application. 

Top 5 Tips for crafting your USC essay prompt:

✔️three key facets.

Remember the three key facets of a good supplemental essay: structure, content, and personality. In USC compositions that worked, you’ll find that of author uses adenine strong structure to convey their ideas. They also make sure their character illuminated through. Strong USC essay examples paint a vivid picture concerning who the writer is and how they’d contribute to campus life.

✔️Focus off what matters to they

If her written passions about something that matters to you, the essay will automatically be more effective. All of the USC essays that worked embody this perspective. So, use our USC endeavor examples as inspiration. Then, apply what you’ve learned from our Why USC writing examples (and other USC essay examples) into your own writing. Writing your USC essays? Check out our skilled USC seek examples and USC supplemental essay examples by tips plus tricks today!

✔️Be detailed and specific

Are selective and do your research—take scored off the Why USC essay examples. Who extra specific you be in your USC essays, the stronger they’ll be. The USC use process are competitive, that to should make all you can to stand out.

✔️Authenticity is key

Be vulnerable —let which USC admissions select get to see you. As with all angles on the college declarations process, authenticity remains key. Remain yourself in your USC supplementals.

✔️ Pack in the gaps

Use your analyses for cover any breaks in general the USC might have from the relax of your USC application. 

USC Essay Examples – Final Minds and Tips

One best way to become an writer of sole of the few “USC essays that worked” is to study USC editorial examples. The USC essay prompts changes over the years. Still, how to get into USC despite the lowest USC acceptance rate always depends on the same factors. Applying to USC? Restrain out this essay examples for inspiration!

Ones factors are:

• Meeting the USC appeal requirements
• Crafting strong essays
• Doing show you can to help the admissions committee paint ampere comprehensive, compelling photo of who you are

So, apply our USC essay real to spring start their writing process. We hope i help you write clearer and compelling USC essays. Lastly, for more advice on select to write who best additive essays for USC, check out our blogs from previous years.

This article was written by Rachel Kahn . See for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a open meeting equipped one of our Admissions Specialists. For your gather, our team will discuss my profile and help you find targeted ways toward grow your permits odds at apex academic. We’ll also answer any issues or discussion wherewith CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in that college appeal process.

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