The University of Southern California conducts admission interviews as an optional part of the undergraduate application process. You may interview on-campus or off-campus in nearly 20 cities across the country. USC's admission interviews are very popular and fill up quickly; space is offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
Who?
Interviews are conducted for First-year (freshman) applicants for fall 2013 only. Students who are applying to transfer to USC will not be interviewed.
What?
Interviews are one-on-one sessions with admission officers or university alumni which will last approximately 25 minutes. During this session, we will ask questions about you, your academic interests, and your activities. Please be prepared to do most of the talking!
When?
On-campus interviews for fall 2013 applicants will begin in August 2012 and conclude in December. Sign-ups for on-campus interviews will be available beginning July 2012. Sign-ups for off-campus interviews will be available by September 2012. Off-campus interviews will take place in the cities listed below.
Where?
You may interview on-campus or off-campus. Off-campus interviews will be conducted on various weekends from October through December in the following cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area (Emeryville), St. Louis, Seattle, and Washington DC. Off-campus interviews are conducted by members of various USC admission offices.
On-campus interviews can be conducted with the Office of Undergraduate Admission, the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the Viterbi School of Engineering, the Marshall School of Business, the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism or the School of Theatre. All admission interviews are evaluated in the same way and you may only schedule ONE interview.
Why?
Interviews are one of the many types of opportunities we provide for students to have contact with the university and the admission office. However, the size of our applicant pool precludes us from interviewing every applicant, therefore this element of the application is strictly optional. We interview less than 20% of the admission applicant pool. Past history has shown that there is no appreciable difference in the admission rates of students who are not interviewed.
If you are applying to a major that requires you to submit additional materials, a portfolio or audition (for instance, most majors in Cinematic Arts, Music, Fine Arts, Architecture), you are encouraged to focus on these elements of your application instead of participating in an interview coordinated by the Office of Undergraduate Admission. In some cases, an interview may be part of the audition/portfolio process, but you will be notified if/when that is necessary.