usc supplemental essays 2023 examples

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USC Supplemental Essays 2023-24 Prompts and Tips

September 1, 2023

When applying to a school like the University of Southern California, it is important to grasp that their acceptance rate in 2023 is lower than Harvard’s back in the late 1990s. Last cycle, USC received roughly 80,000 applications and admitted just 9% from that pool (their first time in the single digits). We don’t bring up these numbers or the Friends -era Harvard comparison to cause future applicants unnecessary fear. Rather, we want aspiring Trojans to realize that in addition to strong high school grades and standardized test scores, they need to excel in other critical areas of their application as well. This brings us to the topic of the USC supplemental essays.

(Want to learn more about How to Get Into the University of Southern California? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into USC: Admissions Data and Strategies   for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

The supplemental essay section offered by USC is a fairly epic one and presents just such an opportunity for students to differentiate themselves from swarms of other qualified applicants. In addition to several short essays, you are also required to answer 10 short answer questions. Below are the USC’s supplemental prompts for the 2023-24 admissions cycle along with tips about how to address each one.

2023-24 USC Supplemental Essays – Required Prompt #1

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (Approximately 250 words)

This is part “Why Us?” and part “Explain Your Major” and your aim is to seamlessly touch on both topics in a tightly woven 250-word composition. For a deeper dive, let’s examine a list of characteristics of a winning USC “Why Us?” essay:

• How did your interest in your major of choice begin and how has it matured over the years?
• While pursuing your majors(s)/interest(s) of choice, how will you take advantage of the university’s immense resources both inside and outside of the classroom? Be sure to cite specific  academic programs ,  professors ,  research opportunities ,  internship/externship programs , and  study abroad programs . Discuss why they pique your interest.
• Feel free to touch on  student-run organizations  related to your field of study that you would like to join.
• Lastly, don’t ignore your second-choice major in this essay.

In any “Why Us?” composition, you need to show that you’ve done your homework on a given school, but you don’t want it to read like a robotic list of items that you Googled ten minutes before writing the essay (even if the timing of the Google search is roughly accurate). In addition to the pure research element, a lot of the time and skill required in creating a stellar USC essay will involve connecting the classes, professors, opportunities, etc. of interest that you have uncovered to your distinct values, talents, aims, proficiencies, and future goals.

USC Supplemental Essays – Short Answers

(#1 provides 25 characters for each word, and #2-10 provide 100 characters each)

• Describe yourself in three words.
• What is your favorite snack?
• Best movie of all time
• If your life had a theme song, what would it be?
• What TV show will you binge watch next?
• Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate?
• Favorite book
• If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?

USC Supplemental Essays (Continued)

It would be a bit silly to try to advise you on what your favorite snack is. Obviously, the USC admissions committee wants to hear “Pepperoni Pizza Combos” but will also accept “Ranch-flavored Bugles.” As such, we’ll keep our advice on these a bit broader:

• This is a chance to make a personal connection with an admissions officer. Don’t overthink these or pick movies, books, songs, or trips that you think an admissions officer will find impressive. Just be genuine.
• For #1, try to avoid words like “interesting” that are…well, not very  interesting , or words that could describe most of USC’s applicant pool, like “hard-working” or “dedicated.”
• For #10, don’t pick a general topic in a traditional discipline. Instead, pick something about which you are passionate. This could be a blend of pop culture and academics or a highly esoteric topic that you happen to be obsessed with (e.g., the Beatles 1965-67 mid-career era, the history of jai-alai, or how to groom a ferret).
• You have 100 characters to utilize, so do include some short explanations that infuse your answers with extra personality. For example, you could jazz up Ranch-flavored Bugles as follows: “Ranch-flavored Bugles, me and my mom’s go-to Jeopardy snack.”
• Final tip: if you feel stuck, try brainstorming a few options for each one before choosing your favorite.

USC Supplemental Essays – School-Specific Prompts

In addition to the required essays noted above, you’ll also need to answer at least one additional essay question that is dependent on the school or college you are applying to at USC. Below, we’ve broken down the most popular options:

Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Many of us have at least one issue or passion that we care deeply about – a topic on which we would love to share our opinions and insights in hopes of sparking intense interest and continued conversation. If you had ten minutes and the attention of a million people, what would your talk be about? (250 words)

What makes you tick? What keeps you up at night? Which subjects could (and do) you talk about for hours if given the opportunity? If you could address one problem in the world, large or small, what would it be? Here’s your chance to tell us all about it. You’ll then want to explain “why”—why will (or should) your passion/topic of choice be made relevant to a wider audience? Why is it so important that others hear your message? Your answer will give admissions readers greater insight into what type of issues are most important to you.

Viterbi School of Engineering

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and their 14 Grand Challenges go hand-in-hand with our vision to engineer a better world for all humanity. Engineers and computer scientists are challenged to solve these problems in order to improve life on the planet. Learn more about the NAE Grand Challenges at  http://engineeringchallenges.org  and tell us which challenge is most important to you, and why. (250 words)

The NAE Grand Challenges list is expansive and includes a number of pressing issues, like clean water access, solar energy, and nuclear terrorism. Basically, you are 100% guaranteed to find at least one item on this list that resonates with you. After reviewing the options, which one are you most passionate about, and why? Is there something from your personal background or experiences that inspired your interest in this area? Alternatively, have you engaged with this topic either inside or outside of school, and if so, how? What would you still like to learn about it? If you choose an issue that you are genuinely interested in and clearly convey your reasoning for doing so, you’ll be well on your way to a compelling response.

The student body at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering is a diverse group of unique engineers and computer scientists who work together to engineer a better world for all humanity. Describe how your contributions to the USC Viterbi student body may be distinct from others. Please feel free to touch on any part of your background, traits, skills, experiences, challenges, and/or personality in helping us better understand you. (250 words)

Take note of the wide-open nature of this prompt. You are essentially invited to talk about any of the following topics:

• A perspective you hold
• An experience/challenge you had
• A community you belong to
• Your cultural background
• Your family background
• A personality trait
• A skill you hold

Although this prompt’s open floor plan may feel daunting, a good tactic is to first consider what has already been communicated within your Common App personal statement, activities list, and other USC essays. What important aspects of yourself have not been shared (or sufficiently discussed)? The admissions officer reading your essay is hoping to connect with you through your written words, so—within your essay’s reflection—be open, humble, thoughtful, inquisitive, emotionally honest, mature, and/or insightful about what you learned and how you grew. No matter what type of story you tell, the goal is to have the reader come away saying, “I can definitely see this applicant as a contributing member of our talented and engaged Viterbi community.”

How important are the USC supplemental essays?

There are five factors that USC considers to be “very important” to their candidate evaluation process and the essay section is one of them. Along with GPA, standardized test scores, rigor of high school coursework, and recommendations, the Common App and supplement essays play a huge role in the USC admissions staff’s decision-making.

Want personalized assistance?

Lastly, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your USC supplemental essays, we encourage you to  get a quote  today.

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USC Supplemental Essays 2023-24

Are you interested in applying to USC? Strong USC supplemental essays can make all the difference in the application process. In this guide, we will discuss the University of Southern California’s supplemental essay requirements and application deadlines. We will cover what role essays play in your application review and discuss how to write a strong why USC essay. Additionally, we’ll provide some examples of USC school-specific supplemental essays.

University of Southern California Background

The University of Southern California, often known as USC, is one of the nation’s premier research universities. Located in Los Angeles, California, USC offers undergraduate and graduate degrees to almost 50,000 students. In addition to USC’s academic accomplishments, it also provides students with a great environment in a bustling city. Impressively, USC is ranked # 25 of all the private and public colleges in the country.

Logically, as such top ranking university, USC enrolls some of the best students in the world. In 2022, USC received almost 70,000 first-year applications. But, they admitted just 12% . Unsurprisingly, those students accepted had impressive academics: an average GPA range of 3.82-4.0 and an SAT range of 1410-1540. Selective institutions like USC receive thousands of applicants with high GPAs and SAT scores. Therefore, this means that they look for students with impressive personal attributes, extracurricular involvements, and essays. 

Keep reading to learn more about the USC essay requirements and how you can use them to your advantage.

USC Essay Prompts: Quick Facts

• University of Southern California Acceptance Rate – US News ranks the University of Southern California as a most selective school, with an acceptance rate of 12%.
• 1 Why USC essay 
• 10 short answer essays 
• Early Action: November 1 st
• Regular Decision: January 5 th
• The USC admissions application is hosted on the Common App . Additional required materials include transcripts, letters of recommendation, optional test scores and a portfolio or additional writing sample if required by major. 
• Some academic programs have their own USC essays, so be sure to research those USC supplemental essays as well. 
• Why School and Why Major essays can be a great way to display how you will fit into the campus community. Don’t forget to mention the academic opportunities in and out of the classroom. 
• Don’t overthink your short answer essays. They are meant to be brief and insightful. 
• Start creating an outline for your essays well in advance. Use that outline to create a structured essay. This will allow you to stay organized and avoid writing your essay at the last minute.

Please note that essay requirements are subject to change each admissions cycle, and portions of this article may have been written before the final publication of the most recent guidelines. For the most up-to-date information on essay requirements, check the university’s admissions website. 

Does USC have supplemental essays?

Are you wondering how to get into USC? Like many other selective institutions, USC requires applicants to write USC supplemental essays. Therefore, these essays will play an important role in your application.

In addition to impressive high school transcripts and glowing letters of recommendation, strong USC supplemental essays can positively impact your application. Unlike some of the materials mentioned above, the USC essay prompts allow students to speak directly to the admissions committee. As such, your USC essays are the perfect chance to showcase your personality, interests, and motivations. 

Since USC does not have an admissions interview, the USC supplemental essays are likely the best way to make a personal connection. 

Check out the USC supplemental essay requirements: 

• 1 required Why USC essay
• 10 required short answer essays
• 1 optional educational progression essay

Technically, that’s a total of 11 USC supplemental essays and 1 optional USC writing supplement. In this guide, we’ll summarize the Why USC essay, the short answer USC supplemental essays, and the USC requirements.

Overall, don’t be intimidated by the number of USC supplemental essays. Instead, view your USC supplemental essays as a chance to highlight what makes you stand out.

Additional USC supplemental essay requirements

The application also requires prospective students applying to certain majors to complete additional USC essay prompts. The USC supplemental essays for these majors vary, but they all center around specific academic interests. 

If you are interested in one of these programs, you may need to complete additional USC supplemental essays: 

• Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Science
• USC School of Architecture
• Roski School of Art and Design
• Iovine and Young Academy for Arts
• Technology and the Business of Innovation
• Marshall School of Business (World Bachelor in Business)
• USC School of Cinematic Arts
• Kaufman School of Dance
• USC School of Dramatic Arts.

Keep reading to learn more about the USC supplemental essays and USC essays for specific majors. And, test your knowledge of college admissions with our free quiz below!

Why USC Essay

The Why USC essay prompt is one of the most important USC writing supplements. As such, all students applying to USC must complete a Why USC essay. Luckily, the Why USC essay uses a similar format to many Why School or Why Major essays. So, you’ve probably seen similar prompts. Now, let’s review the prompt below and discuss how to structure a compelling Why USC essay. 

PROMPT #1: Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (250 words)

As we can see, the Why USC essay prompt asks the student to articulate their academic plans on the USC campus. Therefore, a strong Why USC essay should show that the student has done their research and is passionate about their academic interests.

In your Why USC essay, try to highlight specific features of USC that excite you. This can take many different forms. For example, some Why USC essays might discuss a high-powered research lab on campus. Alternatively, other Why USC essays might focus on the unique studio culture found at the USC School of Architecture (one of the best architecture schools in the country). 

Most importantly, showing your passion for your desired USC academic program should include evidence and context. So, in your Why USC essay, share what sparked your initial curiosity and what you have done to further explore the discipline. For example, a student applying to the Iovne and Young Academy could discuss how starting an e-commerce business during the pandemic sparked their interest in entrepreneurship and human-centered design. 

Undecided students

Fortunately, admissions officers also understand that not all students have a solidified career plan. If this is you, you can still write a stellar Why USC essay. How? Well, students can still craft a compelling Why USC essay by discussing their academic interests more broadly. Even if you haven’t chosen your career path, you can use your USC essays to highlight your intellectual curiosity and academic strengths. 

Looking for more information on how to write a strong Why USC essay? Then check out our guide on how to write a strong Why Major supplemental essay to help you craft a strong Why USC essay for your major. 

USC Short Answer Essays

In addition to the Why USC essay, the USC requirements also include 10 short answer USC supplemental essays. But, don’t let these short supplemental essays intimidate you. The admissions office looks for responses that reflect your interests, passions, and motivations. Therefore, like the Why USC essay, your answers should be unique to you. However, the answers to each of these questions should be no more than 25 words.

The short answer USC supplemental essays are:

1. Describe yourself in three words. 

2. what is your favorite snack, 3. best movie of all time:, 4. dream job:, 5. if your life had a theme song, what would it be, 6. dream trip:, 7. what tv show will you binge watch next, 8. which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate, 9. favorite book:, 10. if you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be.

The beauty of the short answer USC supplemental essays is they are incredibly personal. This allows you to separate yourself from what you think the admissions committee wants to hear and allows you to foreground who you really are. As such, there is no single right answer to this collection of USC essay prompts. In fact, there are many possible excellent answers.

USC School-Specific Supplemental Essays

Additionally, a handful of majors at USC require applicants to submit a USC writing supplement as part of the admissions application process. So, keep reading for a few examples of school-specific USC requirements and USC supplemental essays. 

Check out the list below to find out more about all the programs that require additional USC essays.

But, what are the major specific USC supplemental essays? Well, keep reading for a few examples of USC essays required by specific programs on the USC campus. 

USC Dornslife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences

The USC Dornslife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences includes the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. Whether you want to major in computational neuroscience or art history, USC Dornslife wants to learn more about your passions through its USC writing supplement. 

Most importantly, a strong application to USC Dornsife includes introspective and well-constructed USC essays. There is one required essay for the USC Dornslife College of Letters, Arts and Science. Now, let’s review and discuss the best way to approach this essay. 

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 USC essay asks the student to discuss a topic that they are passionate about. A strong response to this essay prompt may directly connect to your major or another interest. However, don’t forget, there is no right answer here. First and foremost, this is your opportunity to discuss what you are passionate about. Likewise, you may even connect your academic interests to this passion. But, when choosing what to write about, be sure to stay true to yourself. While you may be inclined to discuss a major world problem, don’t shy away from the smaller topics and messages that might resonate with a large audience. 

Next, we’ll discuss USC supplemental essays for the School of Architecture. 

USC School of Architecture Supplement

Impressively, the USC School of Architecture is one of the best architecture schools in the nation.  The School of Architecture offers a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Inventive Technologies.  Applying to the USC School of Architecture requires students to complete two additional USC essay prompts and a video prompt. 

Our school views architecture as a “human right,” and that design should exhibit “social consciousness.” How do you think architecture can contribute to the greater social consciousness?

At usc architecture we will teach you to become strong critical thinkers. with that in mind please tell us about a piece of architecture that you’ve personally experienced and how its design resonated with you..

The first prompt requires students to connect architecture to the world around them. How might architecture and the built environment contribute to social consciousness? For example, you might focus on sustainable design or buildings that prioritize community spaces. 

This prompt requires reflection, so don’t hesitate to workshop a few essay ideas. Then, choose the one that best suits you. The second prompt asks students to name a specific architectural work that resonates with them. This USC essay also provides the perfect opportunity to share how the world of architecture influences your daily life. 

USC Architecture aims to engage students as critical thinkers through their USC supplemental essays. Therefore, these USC essay prompts ask students to think beyond their favorite skyscraper. Instead, you should consider how architecture and design interact with society, social consciousness, and you as a person. 

USC Video Essays

In addition to the USC essay prompts, the USC School of Architecture also has a USC supplemental video prompt.

Video Prompt:

Please produce a video that presents what you consider to be your favorite project in your portfolio and why. try to be as informative and concise as possible when you’re speaking about the project but also remember to be yourself. we are looking for students that are passionate with a keen curiosity about architecture and design..

In your video response, make sure you choose a project that reflects your interests and potential. Don’t focus on using lofty language—instead, highlight where your ideas came from and how your critical thinking skills inform the work you produce. 

Next, we will discuss the USC supplemental essays for the Viterbi School of Engineering. 

USC Viterbi Supplemental Essays

The USC Viterbi School of Engineering offers a variety of degrees in engineering and computer science. Like other programs, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering requires two additional USC supplemental essays.  Most importantly, the Viterbi USC essays seek to get into the minds of future engineers . Like the School of Architecture USC supplemental essays, the Viterbi USC essays require students to reflect on their personal experiences. 

The student body at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering is a diverse group of unique engineers and computer scientists who work together to engineer a better world for all humanity. Describe how your contributions to the USC Viterbi student body may be distinct from others. Please feel free to touch on any part of your background, traits, skills, experiences, challenges, and/or personality in helping us better understand you. (250 words)

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..

The USC Viterbi School of Engineering wants to learn more about you through the USC supplemental essays. In the first USC writing supplement, applicants should talk about the ways their unique traits and experiences add to the USC Engineering student body. In fact, the USC Viterbi admissions blog summarizes this prompt as ”How will you make a unique contribution to the USC student body?” 

You might find some inspiration from your Why USC essay, but be sure to make each of these USC essays unique. 

Additionally, in the second Viterbi USC supplemental writing prompt, students are instructed to review key engineering challenges laid out by the National Academy of Engineering. Students then choose a specific challenge and discuss why it’s important to them. 

Structuring your essay

As you review this prompt, pay attention to the directions. Most importantly, make sure you only choose one challenge and craft a strong argument about why it matters. According to the Viterbi Admissions blog , the challenge does not have to be related to your major. Additionally, you don’t have to provide a solution to the challenge, and there is no right answer.

In each of the Viterbi USC supplemental essays, students respond to USC essay prompts that allow them to represent their most authentic selves. If you aim to study engineering or computer science at USC, these USC supplemental essays give you the chance to share your unique story and perspective. 

Does USC care about essays?

Absolutely! In fact, the more selective the institution, the more your essays might matter. Logically, highly selective schools receive many applications from students with high GPAs and test scores. Therefore, having stellar USC essays can help you stand out to the admissions committee. And, given the USC acceptance rate is just 13% , the USC essay prompts let you set yourself apart. 

In other words, admissions committees look for ways to envision you on their campuses. Indeed, they want to make sure you would enrich their community. So, your Why USC essay is one of the ways you can discuss why USC is the perfect match for you. 

USC essays are one of the ways that the admissions committee can get to know you as a person. Have you heard college admissions representatives encourage you to use “your voice” in your essay? Being authentic and introspective can allow the admissions team to learn more about you while reading your USC supplemental essays. 

What is the application deadline for USC?

Now that you know more about USC supplemental essays, let’s discuss application dates and deadlines. 

USC has two application plans: Regular Decision and Early Action. However, majors requiring a portfolio or audition are not permitted to apply Early Action or Regular Decision. Instead, they have a deadline of December 1 st . Check out this list of majors with a December 1 st deadline.  

The Early Action USC application deadline is November 1 st . The Early Action plan is non-binding and non-restrictive. Therefore, you can apply to as many colleges as you wish and there is no obligation to enroll. Early Action applicants will be notified of their results in January. The Early Action plan leaves ample time for students to review financial aid letters and visit campus before deciding on where to enroll. 

If you are not ready to submit your application in November, the Regular Decision USC application deadline is January 15 th . The Regular Decision plan is also non-binding and non-restrictive. These applicants will be notified of their admissions decision on April 1, 2024. Whether you are applying Early Action or Regular Decision, your USC supplemental essays are due on the application deadline. 

If you are already in college and are interested in transferring to USC, transfer students have a USC application deadline of January 1 st if they are already enrolled at USC and February 15 th if they are currently enrolled at another college.

Starting early

No matter what admissions plan you choose, it is critical to begin working on your USC supplemental essays well ahead of their deadline. Overall, it is never too early to begin brainstorming ideas and creating an outline. By getting organized early and not procrastinating, you can ensure you submit the strongest application possible. 

Your USC essays will also be used in your overall review for merit scholarships. But don’t forget to view the USC scholarship and financial aid deadlines! All students interested in being considered for a USC merit scholarship must apply Early Action (or by December 1 st if their major requires a portfolio or audition).

Keep reading for more resources to help with your USC essays. 

More USC Resources to explore

Are you looking for more insight on how to get into USC and craft strong USC essays? Well, CollegeAdvisor has got you covered. Now that you know more about the USC Supplemental essay requirements, check out these examples of USC supplemental essays. 

Additionally, as you are researching the USC essay prompts, don’t forget about merit scholarships and financial aid. In fact, learning about USC merit scholarships and prestigious external awards, like the Questbridge scholarship, can ease anxiety about the financial aspect of enrolling at USC.

CollegeAdvisor also hosts tons of interactive webinars to help you learn more about USC essays and admissions in general. So, get informed and watch them! Specifically, check out this Q&A webinar with former Georgetown and USC admissions officers. 

Remember that the University of Southern California is just one of many great schools in the State of California. Check out this guide to see how USC stacks up to other California colleges. 

Also, check out USC Admission’s resource videos on YouTube! The video below offers tips for approaching this year’s USC supplemental essays as well.

USC Supplemental Essays – Takeaways 

As we’ve seen in this article, USC supplemental essays are a critical part of the USC admissions application. Here’s a list of 7 takeaways to help you write strong USC supplemental essays.

7 USC Supplemental Essays Takeaways

1. usc has 11 required essays: the why usc essay and 10 short answer essays. all students, regardless of major, have this requirement., 2. your why usc essay is a great opportunity to show why you would be a great fit for usc. , 3. your short answer essays are meant to be brief and authentic. don’t overthink these , 4. depending on your major, you may have additional usc essays to submit. refer to this guide for the list of majors that have additional usc essays. , 5. the deadline for your usc essays is the same as the application deadline. so, it is incredibly important that you prepare by giving yourself ample time to write and edit your usc essays., 6. the usc office of admissions views essays as a valuable part of the application. in fact, they just might be the thing that makes you stand out., 7. be yourself these essays are structured to get a closer look at who you are. don’t shy away from this element..

Looking for more guidance on the USC essays? CollegeAdvisor is here to help. Click here to schedule a meeting with our experts today and start receiving personalized college admissions guidance.

This essay guide was written by Chelsea Holley. Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.

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How To Answer The USC Supplemental Essay Prompts For 2022/23

Located in the heart of Los Angeles, the University of Southern California (USC) is home to a large student body, incredible research advancements, and a large football stadium and culture. USC is ranked one of the best public universities in the US. It boasts a competitive admissions process with an acceptance rate of just 11%, meaning only about 1 in 9 students gets accepted.

USC Supplemental Essay Prompts

Essay 1: please respond to one of the prompts below. (250 word limit).

• 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?

Essay 2: (250 words limit).

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

Essay 3 (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.

Short Answers Questions

• Describe yourself in three words. First Word: (25 characters), Second Word: (25 characters), Third Word: (25 characters)
• What is your favorite snack? (100 characters)
• Best movie of all time: (100 characters)
• Dream job: (100 characters)
• If your life had a theme song, what would it be? (100 characters)
• Dream trip: (100 characters)
• What TV show will you binge watch next? (100 characters)
• Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate? (100 characters)
• Favorite book: (100 characters)
• If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be? (100 characters)

How Anushka Got Into USC with Crimson

How to Answer the Short Essay Questions

Usc believes 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 another point of view challenged your beliefs*. please discuss the significance of the experience and its effect on you.*.

The first supplemental essay (and its three prompt options) asks you to speak from experience about a non-academic moment of growth or the formation of a particular value. While the first prompt is the only one that demands you narrate a specific experience, a solid response to any of the three prompts should describe a particular instance and unpack its implications .

In generating a topic, the experience you choose does not have to be overly serious, but the analysis should show how it speaks to your growth in a powerful way that does not feel too grandiose. USC admissions officers are looking for applicants to demonstrate their understanding that learning is not just sitting in class and pursuing academics but is also significantly impacted by personal growth and a transformation of values .

If you choose this prompt, consider the different circumstances that caused you to change your thinking about a particular issue .

• Maybe it was a passing conversation with a stranger or friend,
• an experience engaging with a social
• a civil issue in your community,
• Or even a slightly more rigorous debate or academic setting.

Whatever topic you choose, vivid language that examines how events made you feel in the moment will be essential to drawing out moments of actual growth . Remember that genuinely changing an established view is hard work, so please be honest with yourself as you look over the depth of these implications. Whether you write about how your experience attending a protest deepened your empathy for a particular cause or how a dare with your friend caused you to deactivate Facebook and rethink the role of social media in your life, try to craft a narrative story with clear consequences.

USC faculty place emphasis on interdisciplinary academic opportunities. Could you describe something outside your intended academic focus about which you are interested in learning?

Responding to the second prompt should show that your intellectual curiosity expands beyond your professional aspirations . Try to recall when you were surprised by how an experience outside your area of expertise affected you. This experience could be anything from how your experience on a safari led to an unexpected interest in endangered species preservation to finding meaning in a collection of poetry you were required to read. Your essay should construct a narrative demonstrating genuine intellectual curiosity in an area outside your prospective academic focus.

A response to the third prompt can take on a variety of topics. Whether you explain the influence of a familial structure, a hobby, an experience as part of a larger community, or even some other unusual facet of your expertise, your narrative should discuss how this influence has positively shaped you .

Again, this is not a spot for arrogant essays about accomplishments and ambition. Instead, it’s for examining a topic that will lead the admissions committee to fully understand you and how you hope to use a USC education. Ideally, the topic will be distinct from your Common App essay topic (which can be similar). It will explain an aspect of your thinking or reasoning that’s not in any other part of your application.

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

The second supplemental essay question helps the admissions committee understand why you are interested in USC instead of another school . The question requires you to research USC’s specific offerings. You’ll use this knowledge, alongside language that introduces your main academic interests and their origins, to explain why USC is a perfect fit for you. Evaluators want to see a response that shows you are attracted to their school and how you have thought deeply about the particular ways USC would help you realize your academic goals.

Tip 1: set the stage by anecdotally introducing your academic interests

Talk about how your struggles with precalculus and the extra time spent working with a teacher sparked a blooming interest in mathematics or how your experience watching the nightly TV news with your family compelled you to intern for a political campaign and learn about the history of international relations.

Tip 2: Reference USC Resources

Once that framework is established, you should reference specific USC resources — classes, notable professors or researchers, proximity to specific professional opportunities, or extracurricular activities — that will help you pursue your interests most effectively.

An excellent place to start is by checking the extensive list of possible majors posted on the USC website and identifying departments that closely match your academic preferences. Then, you can go to departmental websites to identify class offerings and professors you can reference in your essay. Resources like the Undergraduate Research Program in the School of International Relations , or the chance to work with a figure you admire in a specific field, are good examples that help you realize certain career aspirations.

Tip 3: Relate USC Resources to your interests

Finally, relate the USC resources to your interests. Suppose you began by writing about watching the news. You can describe how the “Visual and Popular Culture” within the “American Popular Culture” major would help you answer questions about the power of television news you’ve had since you were young.

How to Answer the Short Answer Questions

It’s easy to try and impress examiners with your short answers. Instead, use these prompts to give the readers an authentic representation of yourself .

Tips for Option 1

The first prompt (three words that best describe yourself) is one of the hardest to answer without sounding ingenuine or fake.

First, avoid descriptors like “ambitious” or “hardworking.” There are far better forums in your application to express your academic accomplishment and drive.

Second, spend time reflecting on the elements of your experience that have forced you to learn something new. If you can identify a quality, like humor or levity, and reflect on how that affects the lens through which you approach the world, you should include this quality.

Otherwise, think about the activities you engage with most and what type of qualities they foster. Maybe your experience doing debate after school has made you “community-oriented,” or your growing interest in running live DJ sets has made you more “adaptable.” Whatever your experience, finding descriptors to reflect your experience (which you’ll write about in other parts of the application!) will help you avoid overly generic descriptions and stand out from other applicants.

Tips for preference-based prompts

For the preference-based short answer questions, you’ll want to dwell similarly on your past experiences, especially pivotal moments of growth, sidestepping the temptation to answer to impress. It may be hard to think of the most technically proficient movie you’ve ever seen. Still, it will be easy to remember movies that have significantly impacted your life or personal development.

Unless you’re an established film academic, you probably can’t humbly claim you think the best movie of all time is Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane or Godard’s Breathless. It’s more likely you feel that it’s a movie you used to watch with your family when you were sick or an accessible old classic that opened your eyes to the aesthetic possibilities of cinema in a new way. The character limits are restrictive but don’t limit yourself to one word. Begin the question with your answer, then use your remaining space to offer a brief piece of context for the preference that speaks to your background or passions.

How to Stand Out in Your USC Supplemental Essays for 2022/23

The essay components of the application are crucially important to make sure you stand out among the rest! The USC application has several essays prompts, especially short answer questions .

Knowing how to approach the supplemental questions for the USC application can take time and effort. The various questions, ranging from short-answer responses to short essays, ask a lot about your personality and academic or personal aspirations . But if you’re not careful, your answers to these prompts might appear insincere or common.

Supplemental questions give you space to demonstrate genuine passion, personality, and growth in your personal and academic life that arises directly from lived experience and suggests an apt fit for USC. Below are several strategies and ideas for each prompt designed to avoid common mistakes and stereotypical answers and create responses that can help present your authentic self to the admissions office.

How Crimson Can Help You With Your USC Supplemental Essays

Crimson takes a personal approach when helping students with their supplemental essays. Advisors get to know their students first. Then they show them how to incorporate their dreams, aspirations, goals, and any unique story aspect into their supplemental essays.

Final Thoughts

Writing supplemental essays for USC, as with any school, should attempt to present the sense of a complete, ambitious person engaged in the business of thinking about the world, one who goes beyond grades and a resume, to the admissions committee. When you write, please remember the more prominent themes of what you are trying to communicate, and rewrite or remove anything that feels extraneous or inauthentic. If you follow the tips above, you should be well on your way to generating a USC supplement that you can be proud of — best of luck!

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Blog > Essay Advice , Private University , Supplementals > How to Write the USC Supplemental Essays

How to Write the USC Supplemental Essays

Admissions officer reviewed by Ben Bousquet, M.Ed Former Vanderbilt University

Written by Kylie Kistner, MA Former Willamette University Admissions

Key Takeaway

When you apply to USC, you’ll have to write one supplemental essay and several short-answer questions. In this post, we’ll cover both.

Let’s dive in.

Prompt #1 :

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at usc specifically. please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (required, approximately 250 words).

In this take on a “why us” and academic interest essay, you’ll need to address several topics: your academic interests, how you plan to pursue them, and what about pursuing them at USC is appealing to you.

Before you start writing, you’ll want to do some research. Go in-depth on USC’s website and the webpages for the specific program you’re applying to. In particular, be on the lookout for specific details that relate to your academic interests. Is there a professor who specializes in the area you’re interested in? A particular study abroad program that would be enriching? A state-of-the-art facility or awesome internship?

As you write, remember to address all three areas laid out in the prompt. Draw on specific details to connect your experiences to what USC has to offer. When you’ve done that, you’ll have made a strong case for your school fit.

Short-answer prompts (required, approximately 100 characters each)

These short answers seem like a bunch of mind games. Why does an admissions officer care what your favorite movie is? Are they just looking for new TV shows to binge watch? Well, I’m sure they appreciate the recommendations. But no, these questions aren’t mind games. They’re opportunities to establish your personality, make yourself memorable, and set yourself apart.

Here are the questions in full:

• 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?

Remember from the USC Common Data Set that USC receives over 70,000 applications each year. That’s…a lot! And a good portion of them have near-perfect GPAs and exceptional extracurriculars. Questions like these short answers help admissions officers learn a little more about you and your fit for USC.

The more memorable you can be with your answers, the better. But there’s a fine line between answering in an authentically humorous or creative way and coming across as overly quirky. In short, you don’t want to seem like you’re trying to hard. It’s all about finding a balance between authentic and memorable. Here’s an example for #8: I’m 5’1”, so my ideal roommate is Taylor Swift—someone to reach high shelves, plus a little music. It’s humorous, creative, and revealing, but not too over the top.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out our USC Common Data Set and How to Get into USC posts for more admissions insights.

And now it’s time to get to writing! If you’re ready to take your supplemental essays to the next level, consider signing up for the Essay Academy , our all-in-one digital college essay writing course. ✏️

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USC Supplemental Essays 2022-2023

By Eric Eng

When it comes to applying to the top schools in the country, your application is vitally important. In order to give yourself the best chance of gaining admission, you need to make sure all aspects of your application are top-notch. In this post, we’re going to do a deep dive into how to write USC supplemental essays for 2022-2023 and everything you need to keep in mind as you write.

USC uses the common app, and this means that you will be asked to answer essay questions contained in the common app. But like many top schools, USC also requires that you complete a short activity-based section as well as an additional essay about your personal or intellectual growth. The USC supplemental essays 2022-2023 allow applicants a certain amount of freedom when choosing their supplemental essay topic, but we’re going to look at the essay prompt and discuss the best way to respond.

The USC Supplemental Essay Prompts 2022-2023

So, let’s start by looking at each supplemental essay prompt, and then we will discuss how to approach each one individually.

Because USC is split into different schools, each school has a different supplemental requirement. Most of these are sample or portfolio based. For example, the USC Film School requires that applicants submit a short film for consideration.

The largest school within USC is the Dornsife School of Arts and Letters requires that applicants respond to a single supplemental essay prompt in addition to the essay prompts found in the common application. The USC supplemental essay 2022 is as follows:

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?

As you can see, there is only one USC supplemental essay for 2022-2023, but if you look closely, you will see that the prompt has more than one part. Let’s take a look at the prompt in detail and figure out the best approach for your response.

How to answer the USC supplemental essay?

The first thing to keep in mind when studying this essay prompt is the USC supplemental word limit, which is 250 words or fewer. Knowing this will allow you to better plan your essay because your response will need to be efficient. Because this essay prompt asks you to describe your passion, it can be hard for applicants to keep their answer brief, but you also need to make sure you have room to respond to the entire prompt.

The first part of the prompt is fairly simple: identifying a passion or issue that you care deeply about. While it’s possible that you have a number of different passions, you will have to narrow it down to something specific. Otherwise, you will have difficulty responding to the second part of the prompt.

Spend some time thinking about the one passion that seems to sit above all the others for you. Then ask yourself this question: what topic could I talk about for ten minutes without needing any preparation? The goal is to identify your most deeply held passion, and also the topic about which you are most knowledgeable.

Once you’ve narrowed your focus to a single issue or topic, start to think about what makes you so interested in this topic. Why did you first gravitate to this issue, to begin with? How has your understanding of the topic grown or changed over time? What would you like to do with this passion you are carrying around? These questions can form the basis for how you will respond to the second part of the prompt.

When you think of a TED Talk, the goal is for the presenter to educate the audience about a very narrow subject in a way that sparks new interest from the audience. Part of this requires knowledge. You need to have an in-depth understanding of the topic. The next part is enthusiasm. You need to be able to explain your topic in such a way that other people realize how interesting it is. And the third part is how you tell the story. Your voice.

Obviously, you can’t fit a whole TED Talk into a 250-word essay, but you can still convey your passion for the topic. The key to doing this is to pull out some key pieces of information about your topic that first grabbed your attention. Focus on these aspects of the topic and shape your talk around these points.

Keep in mind, that this isn’t about creating an in-depth explanation of your topic. Because of the USC supplemental word limit, you won’t be able to do that, and it likely won’t be the most interesting way to tell your story. Instead, think back to TED Talks you’ve seen, and focus on why they are captivating.

Once you’ve done this, you should be able to distill the main points of your essay without going into exhaustive detail. As with any TED Talk, the goal is to be compelling rather than excessively detailed. This will allow you to focus on what’s really important: your passion and unique voice.

At AdmissionSight, our goal is to help you with every step of the college admissions process. The USC supplemental essays 2022 can seem daunting at first, but our experience and expertise will help you navigate the entire process with confidence. Hopefully, this guide to the USC supplemental essays 2022-2023 has been helpful, but if you want more information about how AdmissionSight can help you realize your dreams, set up your free consultation today.

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How to Write the USC Supplemental Essays 2023-2024

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The University of Southern California , also known as USC, UC, or SoCal, currently educates almost 50,000 students, 21,000 of whom are undergraduates. Located in Los Angeles, CA, USC is known for its 22 schools, each of which has a unique specialization. With an impressive list of alums, from George Lucas and Shonda Rhimes to Neil Armstrong and Grant Imahara , USC launches careers in entertainment, engineering, English, and more every year. If you’re looking to maximize your chances of acceptance, continue reading as we break down USC’s supplemental essays.

Note that the specific program within USC to which you apply may have additional supplemental materials. These include short essays, short videos, and portfolios of creative work. Check out the programs here and the additional application requirements for USC here .

USC’s 2023-2024 Prompts

Long answer questions, 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 or fewer).

• 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 or fewer)

Short Answer Questions

Describe yourself in three words. (3 words), what is your favorite snack (100 characters or fewer), best movie of all time (100 characters or fewer), dream job (100 characters or fewer), if your life had a theme song, what would it be (100 characters or fewer).

• Dream trip (100 characters or fewer)

What TV show will you binge watch next? (100 characters or fewer)

Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate (100 characters or fewer), favorite book (100 characters or fewer), if you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be (100 characters or fewer).

The USC application requires one longer essay (250 words or fewer) and ten shorter responses limited to 100 characters. (But don’t compose a 100-character answer for the questions requiring a single word!). There is also an optional longer essay question only applicable to students with some gap in their educational history other than a summer break.

This standard essay question is deceptively difficult. Most students have enough of a sense of their academic interests to list them and describe why they’re interested in them. However, this question is actually more of a research question than a personal essay question. The USC admissions officers reading your response to this question are less interested in what your academic interests are and more in how you will pursue them while a student at USC.

As a result, it’s recommended that you do some research before answering this question. Read through a list of USC’s majors and minors . Scroll around in the course catalog . Find some programs, professors, clubs, and activities at USC that relate to your academic interests. Mention these opportunities by name and describe how and why you will take advantage of them. Displaying this kind of research will demonstrate your seriousness in applying to USC and your maturity in visualizing your future.

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 or fewer)

If your educational background has some kind of gap, then you should answer this question. If not, then leave this question aside.

In your 250 words, you’ll need to summarize the following pieces of information:

• why you were not enrolled for a period of time during your high school/secondary school years;
• what you did during your period of non-enrollment;
• how this experience impacted your educational experience thereafter;
• and optionally, how this experience impacted your life in general thereafter.

USC’s admissions officers review applications holistically. They don’t want to assume that any gap in educational history is a bad thing. If your period of non-enrollment did have a negative impact on your life, this essay question gives you the opportunity to provide nuance to this experience and describe how you grew from it.

These short answer questions provide space for you to express your unique personality. Feel free to inject humor into your responses or adopt a light-hearted tone. Still, authenticity is key. Admissions officers ask questions like these because they want to see who you are inside and outside of the classroom.

You might be thinking it’s a little redundant to mention that describing yourself in three words should take three words to answer, no more and no less. But you’d be surprised to learn how many students don’t take that piece of information to heart! If you have a legitimately clever idea for getting around the word restriction and providing a longer answer, then go for it. Still, bear in mind that if you answer with three unassuming words, you’re more likely to have a neutral response than a negative response. Meanwhile, if you get a little too clever with this answer, you increase the likelihood of your reader taking your response the wrong way.

If you’re having difficulty coming up with your three words, consider asking friends or family to help you out. Ask them to describe you in a word or two, ideally a noun (for example, “artist,” “dreamer,” or “nerd”) or adjective (for example, “creative,” “logical,” or “caring”). It can be hard to describe ourselves. It’s even harder to describe ourselves succinctly. Sometimes, the people who know us best can describe us better than we can ourselves.

If you already know some or all of your words without help, you may still want to run your choices by someone else. Some words have both positive and negative connotations, and ideally, your word choices are primarily positive. For example, “stubborn” can be both a positive and a negative descriptor of a person. Thus, you may want to think carefully about whether your stubbornness is portrayed elsewhere in your application in a positive light that will offset its possible negative connotations.

As always, unless you have a uniquely clever and interesting answer that goes beyond the literal meaning of the prompt, keep this answer simple. This answer shouldn’t require you to think too much; if you find yourself over-thinking, just bring it back to basics! When you get home from school and feel a bit peckish, what do most often you gravitate toward? There: that’s your answer, and another USC essay done!

This is a subjective question, but don’t feel pressured to defend your point-of-view. Just share what you think is the best movie of all time. And if you don’t have a favorite, just pick one of your favorites after rolling a die or flipping a coin. 

Note that the context of a college application is, if not formal, not so casual either. Don’t list a movie considered highly inappropriate. If you wouldn’t hypothetically be willing to defend this movie choice to a teacher, a parent, or a college admissions officer, then it’s probably not a good choice to put on a college application. You don’t have to limit yourself to G-rated movies (although if a G-rated movie is your favorite, then put it down), but you should probably avoid anything X-rated and some R-rated movies.

This short answer question, like the previous ones, does not require (and probably shouldn’t) have too much accompanying elaboration, if any. As a result, choose a job description or title which is clear to the reader. Jobs like “writer” or “teacher” are relatively general and you could boost them with concrete and specific details. Consider alternatives like “fantasy novel writer” and “middle school English teacher.”

With this question, because of the word “dream,” you don’t necessarily need to choose a “dream job” that relates to your intended course of study. You might be a pre-med applicant who dreams of being a life-saving surgeon. Or maybe you’re a marketing major who can’t sing but still dreams of becoming a rockstar. Whatever your dreams are, don’t feel embarrassed, just share them!

Like the question about what movie you think is the best of all time, this question asks you to provide the reader with some insight into the media you consume. Although it may feel natural to put your favorite song to listen to as the answer to this question, consider how/whether the song describes your life. Are the themes of the song—for instance: love, loss, ambition, fear—themes of your life? Is the tone of the song—for instance: joyful, energetic, nostalgic, chill—descriptive of the way you often feel?

Consider that the admissions officers may look up your song of choice and read the lyrics, in the case of songs which have lyrics. As a result, the song should not deal with themes which are too mature for the context of a college application. If you wouldn’t hypothetically feel comfortable writing an essay about this song for your application, an essay which quotes the song and delves into the meaning of its lyrics, then perhaps you should select a different song for your choice here.

Authenticity is still important. Some students who may struggle with their mental health feel uncertain about listing a particularly deep, raw, or emotional song as their “theme song.” If that sounds like you, consider whether the rest of your application somehow demonstrates that you are self-aware regarding your mental health struggles and/or that you have matured over the years in how you meet your struggles. Doing so will help your reader understand that you are a nuanced person, even if your song choice presents a single dimension of yourself.

Dream trip (100 characters or fewer)

In this essay question, you can dream big—consider the limits of where you could go and what you could do there. There’s no right answer to this question, but do consider how someone from the place you would like to visit might view your dream trip plan (if you provide detail about your plan, which you don’t have to). Make sure that your references to other places are respectful of those places and the people who live there, and consider researching your dream trip locale of interest before responding to this question.

Like the earlier questions about movies and songs, this question requires you to think broadly about the media you consume. Yet there’s a difference with this question: it focuses on the future. Meanwhile, the earlier questions asked about media you have already consumed.

The admissions officers ask this kind of question are curious about your personality and about your curiosities. Do you seek out procedural dramas, intrigued by the way family relationships might play out in a courtroom? Are you a sci-fi buff dreaming of new technologies and far-away galaxies? Or are you invested in the psyches of reality TV contestants seeking love? 

Like most of these questions, there’s no right answer. Admissions officers aren’t seeking to fulfill specific quotas of history documentary fans and sitcom devotees. However, like previous questions about media, consider your audience and whether your answer suits the context of a college application. Is your answer “safe for work”? 

Lastly, you can feel free to add a brief “because… ” or equivalent statement after your choice, especially if it seems to warrant explanation. Also, note that some show titles are very generic, so without further (minimal) context the reader may not know what you’re referring to. Adding a year, language, director, or something similar might provide the necessary clues so that your answer isn’t confusing.

This is a multilayered question. It requires you to not only consider a person or character whom you know and are (presumably) a fan of but also how your lifestyles would align. As a result, your answer will not just indicate what kind of media, news, or other content you consume. It will (should) also hint at how you currently live and what your ideal way of living might be.

Feel free to get creative with this answer. Maybe you want to live with the Flash because he could do the dishes really quickly, or with Bob the Builder because you could co-design your ideal DIY home. On the flipside, you could also take this question more literally and look up a famous figure known for their impressive productivity strategies and excellent sleep schedule.

This is yet another media-related question that aims to provide dimension to your personality through a window into how you spend your free time. This question, like all of these questions, is best served by an honest answer. What book do you pick up again and again? What book do you think about as you fall asleep? What book are you constantly recommending to friends?

Some students feel pressured to answer this question with a book they read in English class or some impressive-sounding academic treatise. However, admissions officers are skilled professionals who will see right through that kind of answer. If your favorite book truly is The Grapes of Wrath and you first encountered it in 10th grade Honors English, that’s an entirely legitimate answer, and don’t feel self-conscious about it. But if your favorite book is an obscure mystery novel no one’s ever heard of, or written by a highly popular author like James Patterson or Rick Riordan, that’s also totally legitimate. Not every accepted applicant to USC is going to be an English major. Nevertheless, admissions officers do expect to see students who engage with books. So if you can’t think of any books to answer this question with, get reading while you still have time!

This is a common college essay question that you may have seen on other applications. For example, Yale asks an almost identical question , with 200 characters permitted for a response, because you’re expected to explain why you would teach this class. USC doesn’t require you to explain why. The limit to a 100-character answer further drives home how brief your answer is expected to be.

Of course, if the topic you choose is extremely obscure and requires context to understand, a brief explanation could be helpful. Otherwise, just think broadly and put the course title or topic. Your answer can be anything from academic to athletic, creative to craft-based. It also doesn’t need to be a topic you know much about (yet), but instead something you’re interested in learning more about. Good luck!

If you need help polishing up your USC supplemental essays, check out our College Essay Review service. You can receive detailed feedback from Ivy League consultants in as little as 24 hours.

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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

Get personalized advice!

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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Tackling USC Supplemental Essays for the 2023-2024 Admissions Cycle

Navigating the complex process of college applications can feel overwhelming, especially when dealing with supplemental essays. The University of Southern California (USC), renowned for its top-tier programs and vibrant campus life, requires applicants to submit multiple supplemental essays as part of their application package. In this blog post, we provide you with specific, targeted advice for each prompt, ensuring your responses effectively convey your individuality, drive, and fit for USC.

General Prompt

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC. (250 words)

This is an opportunity to exhibit both your academic fervor and genuine interest in USC. Don't just list courses and professors that interest you; instead, connect your intellectual curiosity to specific opportunities at USC. Showcase how USC's academic resources, interdisciplinary approach, or specific programs align with your aspirations.

Example Essay

As a child, I spent countless hours immersed in a world of Legos, building intricate structures that stretched my creativity and tested my patience. As I matured, this hobby evolved into a passionate interest in urban planning and sustainable development.

At USC, I intend to pursue a major in Urban Studies and Planning, as it perfectly combines my interests in sustainability, urban design, and sociology. USC's unique interdisciplinary approach provides a robust exploration of these areas. I'm particularly drawn to the Real Estate Development program, which ties in the business perspective necessary for practical implementation.

Moreover, the Capstone Project in the senior year promises hands-on experience, allowing me to connect the theoretical knowledge with real-world applications. I'm excited about the possibility of working with professors like Dr. Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, whose research on the economic impact of cultural trends aligns with my interest in urban cultures and their influence on city development.

Overall, the blend of academic rigor, innovative research, and practical exposure at USC provides the ideal platform to deepen my understanding and contribute significantly to urban development, shaping a sustainable future.

Optional Prompt

Has there been a time when you've had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? (250 words)

Approach this prompt by picking a specific belief, discussing its origin, and illustrating how it was challenged. Show your maturity and capacity for growth by explaining how this shift in perspective impacted your values and actions. Remember, this is about your development, not just the belief.

Growing up in a tightly-knit community, I held a firm belief in the strength and unyielding support of unity. However, when I began volunteering at a local homeless shelter, my belief was challenged.

In the shelter, I observed a strong sense of community, yet it wasn't flawless. Disputes arose often, support waned in challenging times, and unity was occasionally overshadowed by personal interest. This realization shook my idealistic view of communal harmony.

Rather than distancing myself from the shelter, I chose to immerse myself deeper. I initiated open discussions among the shelter residents, providing a safe space to air grievances, forge stronger bonds, and foster empathy. I learned that unity is not inherent but cultivated, demanding patience, understanding, and active engagement.

My time at the shelter reshaped my belief in unity. I learned that it's not always harmonious, yet the pursuit of it is a testament to our collective strength and resilience. I'm eager to bring this nuanced understanding to USC, contributing to and learning from its diverse community.

Short Answer Questions

Short answer questions are all about brevity and impact. Each answer should reveal something unique about your character.

What is something about yourself that is essential to understanding you? (25 words)

In only a few words, share an intriguing insight about your character, passion, or unique trait that could stimulate a reader's curiosity.

Describe your dream job (25 words).

This answer should echo your long-term ambitions, aligning with your prospective major or indicating an innovative perspective on your future career.

Prompts for Specific Schools

The School of Architecture: Describe an instance or place where you have been inspired by architecture or design. (250 words)

Detail the architectural or design element that inspired you, focusing on the emotions and thoughts it evoked. Conclude by connecting this experience with your decision to pursue architecture at USC.

Walking through the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, I was captivated by the innovative design that defied traditional architectural conventions. Frank Gehry’s fluid design, interplaying with light and reflection, created an experience as moving as the artwork it housed.

The swirling titanium facade, reflective of the nearby river, sparked a deep appreciation for the transformative potential of architecture. It created a conversation between the built environment and nature, manifesting a symbiosis rarely achieved in modern urban design. This ignited in me an aspiration to create spaces that transcend functionality, embodying a dialogue between man, nature, and the built environment.

Studying architecture at USC, I look forward to learning the principles that can turn these aspirations into reality. USC's School of Architecture's emphasis on sustainable, forward-thinking design resonates with my desire to create spaces that not only serve humans but also respect the natural world.

The School of Cinematic Arts: In what ways do you believe your personal experiences and background shaped you as a creator? (250 words)

Narrate a personal story or experience, illustrating how it has influenced your creative process or style. Connect your journey to USC's School of Cinematic Arts, showing how it will enhance your evolution as a creator.

Growing up in a small Midwestern town, I often found myself starved for diversity, leading me to seek varying perspectives through cinema. This craving developed into a passion for filmmaking, with a goal to spotlight untold stories.

My experience volunteering at a local community center introduced me to a diverse range of experiences and narratives, fueling my desire to amplify marginalized voices through my work. From the resilience of a single mother to the inspiring journey of an immigrant teenager, these stories challenged my worldviews and inspired me to capture them in film.

At USC's School of Cinematic Arts, I aim to refine my storytelling skills, adding depth and nuance to my work. I am particularly drawn to the school's emphasis on diverse narratives and its commitment to social justice. I believe the experiences and perspectives I bring will add to the rich tapestry of creativity at USC, and I am excited to grow as a creator among fellow storytellers.

Viterbi School of Engineering: How do you intend to leverage engineering to make a significant societal impact? (250 words)

Highlight a social issue you're passionate about and propose a potential engineering solution. Showcase how Viterbi's resources, network, or curriculum can help you bring this vision to life.

From observing my grandmother struggle with mobility issues, I developed an interest in Biomedical Engineering, intending to design assistive devices to aid the elderly.

At USC Viterbi, I plan to leverage the school's robust research facilities, renowned faculty, and focus on technological innovation to make this vision a reality. I am particularly excited about the Health, Technology and Engineering program that merges medicine with engineering principles, preparing its students to tackle pressing health issues.

I aspire to create affordable, user-friendly devices, ensuring accessibility for all. With the aging global population, I believe such innovations are timely and crucial.

My ultimate aim is to combine empathy with engineering, utilizing technology as a tool to improve quality of life and uphold human dignity. I'm convinced that the Viterbi School of Engineering, with its innovative approach and community impact focus, is the perfect place for me to embark on this journey.

To ace these essays, remember that they're a platform to highlight your uniqueness, intellectual curiosity, and alignment with USC's values. Research thoroughly, infuse your essays with personality, and most importantly, be genuine.

Best of luck, Trojans!

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 4 tips for writing perfect usc essays.

College Essays

So you have your heart set on going to the University of Southern California . That's great—it's one of the best schools in the country ! Unfortunately, that makes it tough to get into: only 10% of applicants are admitted each year .

But don't worry. This guide will teach you everything you need to know to write an outstanding USC Writing Supplement .

We'll answer all of your questions, including the following:

• What is the USC supplement?
• What are the questions, and how do I answer them?
• Are there tips and tricks for knocking your USC essays out of the park?
• What steps do I take to finish my USC application?

Let's get started!

Feature Image: Sitao Xiang / Wikimedia

What Is the USC Supplement?

The USC Writing Supplement is an additional part of the USC application that you fill out on the Common App website.

The supplement itself consists of two writing prompts (250 words each) and 12 short-answer questions (100 characters each) . The word limits mean you'll have to cram a lot of information into a small amount of space.

Great USC essays are going to be concise, honest, creative, and engaging . Remember, USC designed the supplement to help admissions counselors get a better sense of your personality. Don't be afraid to embrace your individuality here! It's your chance to share aspects of yourself, your life, and your goals that aren't captured by the Common App.

In other words: this is your time to shine.

( Bobak Ha'Eri / Wikimedia)

Where Can I Find the USC Supplement?

The writing supplement is part of the USC Common Application. Once you've selected USC as one of your colleges, it should pop up in the application portal. If you're not exactly sure how to find it, don't worry ... here's a step-by-step guide!

• Log into the Common App website using your username and password.
• Click on the "College Search" tab and look for "University of Southern California."
• Select the search result and then click "add" to add it to your profile.
• Return to your dashboard and look for "University of Southern California." Click the label below the school that reads "Show more details."
• From there, click on the link titled "Writing Questions."
• You can also access the supplement by clicking on "University of Southern California" and scrolling down the school's home page on the Common App to find a link labeled "Writing Questions."

How Do I Answer the USC Essay Prompts?

The writing supplement contains two short writing prompts designed to showcase both your writing skills and your personality. But because you're limited to 250 words, you need to make every word count .

Here are some general strategies to keep in mind.

#1: Use a Standard Format

It's important that you aren't wasting precious space. A good strategy is to limit your intro/thesis statement and your conclusion to one sentence each . That lets you use the rest of the space to answer the prompt.

#2: Show, Don't Tell

Instead of giving run-of-the-mill answers, use stories and anecdotes to illustrate your point. Paint a picture for your audience when you can!

For example, say you're talking about your love of photography. Instead of writing, "I love to photograph people," see if you can capture the feeling of taking someone's picture.

A better sentence might read, "I love trying to capture people's personalities through my camera lens." The first answer tells us that you enjoy photography, but the second response shows us why you love it .

#3: Edit, Edit, Edit

Don't be disappointed if your first attempt at answering these prompts goes over the word limit. That's OK! Keep cutting and revising until you end up with something great.

Here are a few examples of how you can edit a sentence to make every word work:

• OK: "It was the very best experience of my whole life."
• Better: "It was the best experience of my life."
• Best: "The trip was transformational."
• Passive: "Geology would be my preferred major."
• Active: "I plan to major in geology."
• With "is": "Researching cancer treatments is my ultimate career goal."
• Without "is": "I plan to pursue a career in cancer research."

#4: Don't Wait Until the Last Minute

The USC supplement is short, so it's tempting to tackle it at the end of the application process. Don't! Writing short responses is harder than it looks, so give yourself plenty of time .

The USC Essay

USC is making things more streamlined this year: everyone answers the same question! Here's the 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.

What Is This Question Asking You to Do?

No option here: you're stuck with this prompt and limited to 250 words in your response. But that's OK because this is the "Why USC?" question. (It's a version of what we call the "why this college" around here.)

Why do you need to go to USC to fulfill your dreams? Or, put another way: why is USC the only school for you?

This means choosing and discussing your major (and your second-choice major if your program is very competitive). Remember that you're not committed to the major you pick . You can change majors after you've enrolled.

How Do You Answer This Question?

Research, research, research. Visit the USC website and get to know your college, your department, and the classes offered. Also, take a close look at your major's course of study. If you're going to take classes from other departments, figure out which ones and why. For example, if you're majoring in international relations and want to work in China, you'll probably take foreign language/culture courses (like Advanced Modern Chinese) and political science courses (like Chinese Foreign Policy). Research the professors in the department and mention them by name.

• Seize the day. There's more to college than going to class. Making the most of USC means getting involved and taking advantage of opportunities such as internships and study abroad programs. There are over 100 international fellowships and programs available through different colleges, so be sure to look into them . Mentioning programs like the Global Fellows Internship (available to all students) or the Maymester , which is a major-specific opportunity, shows that you're serious about making the most of your education at USC.
• Focus on USC. Your job is to show why USC and nowhere else can help you achieve your dreams.

Optional Essay: Explaining Your Education Gap

Who is this question for.

First thing's first: not everyone needs to answer this question. Only respond to this prompt if you took a semester or more off between high school and enrolling in college, or if you took time off while enrolled in high school.

So if you took a gap year (or two, or three), you should answer this question.

This isn't a trick question. Admissions counselors genuinely want to know why you took time off between high school and starting college. And don't worry if your reason isn't "sexy," like you were rescuing sea turtles off the coast of Argentina or teaching English to underprivileged students in Iowa. For most people, the answers will fall along the lines of getting a job, financial difficulties, or helping out their family.

In short: this question is asking you to honestly explain your education gap so that admissions counselors have a better idea of you and your story.

How Do You Answer the Question?

• Keep it short and sweet. It's tempting to give admissions counselors every detail of your situation. But the truth is, they only need to know the most pertinent information while still being honest. Remember: you only have 250 words!
• Explain why you're choosing now to return to school. Counselors are also going to be interested in why you want to go to college now. Be honest about this, too! It's okay to say that you wanted to take some time off to really figure out what you wanted to do with your life, and now you're prepared and excited to throw yourself into your studies. Whatever the case may be, make it clear that you're ready to be an engaged and dedicated student regardless of your education gap.
• Don't make excuses. This isn't a "woe is me" section. While taking time off between high school and college may have been out of your control, this isn't the time to air your grievances. The best answers to this question will keep things as honest and positive as possible.

Your answers in the next section might be small, but they're mighty.

Freddie Alequin /Flickr

The USC Short-Answer Questions

On the surface, the short-answer questions seem simple, but many students find this section the hardest part of the supplement . That's because these responses are limited to 100 characters or less—shorter than a tweet!

Here are some general tips to make tackling the USC short-answer questions a breeze:

#1: Maximize the space you have. There's room to elaborate on your answers a bit, and you should.

#2: There are no right answers. Admissions counselors don't have specific responses in mind. This is their way of trying to get to know the person behind the application.

#3: You're more than a major. It's tempting to make every answer tie into your major or future career in some way; instead, your answers should capture who you are as a person and hark back to your academic goals only if it makes sense for them to.

#4: Don't be afraid of a little humor. Embrace being funny but not at someone else's expense. 

#5: Avoid clichés.

#6: Keep it tasteful. If you wouldn't say it to your parents, don't say it to an admissions counselor!

Now that you have some solid strategies, let's look at each question individually.

Questions 1-3: Describe Yourself in Three Words

A good way to tackle this question is to ask your friends and family to text you their responses, and look for patterns . For example, if five people say you are nice and caring, combine those into one idea, such as "empathetic."

Adjectives are the most common words to use, but you can pick nouns, too! Just stick to ones with personality (like "bookworm" if you love to read, or "shutterbug" if you're a photographer). Choose words that are highly descriptive (e.g., "enthusiastic" instead of "fun") and avoid clichés as much as you can.

Oh, and the supplement breaks this response into three separate fields , so make sure you don't type all three words on one line ! Also, note that there's a 25-character limit per word, so think "antidisestablishmentarian" or shorter.

Here are some sample responses:

• Whimsical, artistic, collaborative
• Competitive, thoughtful, engaging
• Loquacious, jovial, encouraging
• Reserved, compassionate, giving

Question 4: What Is Your Favorite Snack?

Here's a chance to showcase your personality by being specific . Let's say that you love peanut M&Ms. A specific answer might say, "Eating peanut M&Ms while watching a scary movie."

You can also touch on your personal history , especially if you come from a diverse background. You could say something like "My abuela's enchiladas" or "Almond Crush Pocky" as a nod to your heritage.

Finally, lean into your weird . We all have strange snacks that somehow hit the spot (we're looking at you, hot dog buns dunked in hot chocolate). If there's a bonkers food you enjoy—such as dipping tater tots in soft-serve ice cream—this is your time to shine. An added bonus? It will definitely make an impression.

• Perfectly toasted marshmallows while sitting around a campfire.
• A hot dog and soda from Fenway Park.
• Homemade apple pie with melted cheddar cheese on top!
• A package of Digestive Biscuits (they're cookies!) and a glass of milk.

Question 5: Best Movie of All Time

This question can make applicants anxious because people are passionate about the movies they love ... and the movies they love to hate! That's why we recommend that you either give a serious answer or embrace your silliness.

This goes without saying, but make sure your movie choice is appropriate . If you wouldn't watch it with your family, don't list it here. Also, steer clear of any super-controversial picks—don't pick a film that's clearly discriminatory, such as Birth of a Nation.

• Serious: Blade Runner because of its influence on sci-fi film.
• Serious: Saving Private Ryan . It reminds us that war is hard, dangerous, and tragic.
• Silly: The Lion King . We should all "hakuna matata" a little more!
• Both: Legally Blonde —I love stories about women chasing their dreams.

What is your ideal job? Maybe it's making mini beach dioramas in vintage suitcases.

Question 6: Dream Job

Obviously, this answer should roughly align with your major . (Don't say your dream job is to play Aaron Burr in Hamilton if you're majoring in computer science.)

You should also think big and think ahead. For instance, if you're a computer science major, maybe you want to start a company that develops assistive AI for people with disabilities. Embrace big goals!

The more specific you are, the better. Don't just say you want to be a veterinarian. What kind of animals do you want to work with? Will you specialize in something? Do you want to own your own practice? Adding detail will make your answer stand out.

• A large-animal veterinarian that helps rural farmers care for their livestock.
• The owner of a non-profit that helps women of color succeed in corporate America.
• A judge appointed to the US Courts of Appeals.

Question 7: If Your Life Had a Theme Song, What Would It Be?

Everyone needs a little walk-in music. As you think about yours, choose a song with a title that makes a point . It's tempting to pick a song with a specific lyric that speaks to you, but your admissions counselor might not be able to make the connection. Think more along the lines of "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty or "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" by Aretha Franklin and the Eurythmics.

Be careful that your song title can't be misconstrued. "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred might seem like a funny choice to you, but it could also come across as cocky or overconfident.

Additionally, keep your choice appropriate . Look through the song lyrics to make sure they aren't offensive.

And whatever you do, don't say the Trojan Fight Song . That's probably the most popular—and most clichéd—answer you could possibly give!

• "Beautiful Day" by U2
• "My Shot" from the Hamilton soundtrack
• "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey

Maybe your dream trip is a mix of adventure and van life.

Question 8: Dream Trip

There's no special trick to answering this question. Just be honest and specific! And feel free to focus on experiences as well as destinations. Maybe you want to snorkel with stingrays in the Caribbean or visit the Lord of the Rings set locations in New Zealand. Share that here!

• Letting a lantern go during the Floating Lantern Festival in Thailand.
• Hiking to the top of Machu Picchu.
• Driving from California to Illinois on Route 66 with my best friends.
• Eating paella from a street vendor in Barcelona.
• Visiting Zimbabwe and bungee jumping off the Victoria Falls Bridge.

Question 9: What TV Show Will You Binge Watch Next?

This is another question designed to reveal something about you, your likes, and your dislikes. We suggest that you pick a show you like, as long as it isn't completely without substance. If you're having a hard time choosing, try narrowing it down to your favorite genre first.

• I'll binge Making a Murderer because I'm interested in how the justice system works (and doesn't work).
• The Good Place because it combines comedy and philosophy!
• Friends because it helps you understand interpersonal relationships.

I'm bingeing RuPaul's Drag Race and learning a lot about drag culture and inclusivity.

Question 10: Which Well-Known Person or Fictional Character Would Be Your Ideal Roommate?

This question essentially wants to know who you could see yourself living with on a daily basis , whether it's a fictional character from a TV show or book you love, or a real-life celebrity, such as a movie star, singer, scientist, activist, writer, or historical figure.

The prompt doesn't limit you to living celebrities, so feel free to write about somebody who passed away recently (think Stephen Hawking) or even centuries ago (such as Jane Austen).

Make sure that you're choosing a person who will reveal something positive and/or unique about yourself. It's also OK to throw in a little humor! For example, if you're a huge Renaissance-period buff, you could talk about how you'd love to live with King Henry VIII because he'd entertain you every night with stories of his marriages.

Regardless of who you choose to write about, remember that the admissions committee wants to learn something about you through the person you pick to be your roommate , so be sure that you can clearly tie them back to yourself and your own interests somehow.

• Marie Curie because we could conduct experiments together after class every day.
• Hermione Granger! She'd be a great study buddy and could teach me magic on the side.
• David Sedaris. We could write stories together and he'd never fail to make me laugh!

Question 11: Favorite Book

This is a pretty straightforward question that's similar to the "favorite movie" one above. Be honest— don't try to pass off a book as one of your favorites just because it sounds impressive or is highly intellectual . The admissions committee will likely be able to tell if you're trying to show off!

At the same time, don't write about a book that's overly childish or inappropriate , or that fails to reveal anything interesting or impressive about you. For instance, even if you really love Twilight , unless you can say something a little more intellectual about it, such as how you enjoy analyzing its portrayal of codependency in teenage relationships, this book likely won't leave much of a positive impression on the USC admissions committee.

• Wild because this book inspired me to be courageous and go on a three-day hike by myself.
• Lolita is my favorite book because it's downright disturbing yet hauntingly beautiful.
• Definitely The Hobbit . It was the first book I read that showed me the power of taking risks.

Question 12: If You Could Teach a Class on any Topic, What Would It Be?

This final question from USC is truly a thought-provoking one. Basically, the admissions committee wants to know what kind of class you'd teach if you could choose any topic of interest to you .

While the topic you write about doesn't need to directly relate to your major, it should definitely be something you're deeply passionate (and, ideally, fairly knowledgeable) about . Are you really into horror movies and enjoy dissecting their depictions of female characters? Then perhaps you'd like to teach a class on women in horror.

Be as specific as you can be. Don't just say you want to teach a class on the environment because you're committed to combating climate change. What specific topic concerning the environment or climate change would you like others to learn more about, and why?

• A creative writing class that would focus on writing stories from the perspective of children.
• Women of color in astronomy. Too few know about the accomplishments of Beth Brown and Mae Jemison!
• The Navajo language. Not enough schools teach it and we Native Americans must strive to preserve it.

Finishing your supplement is like climbing a really tall flight of stairs. Just put one foot in front of the other! 

Next Steps for Your USC Supplement

Even once you've finished and submitted your Common App and USC essays, you're not quite done. Most of USC's colleges require you to submit additional materials, such as portfolios or writing samples, before your application is considered complete.

Visit the links below to view each college's supplemental application requirements and submission deadlines:

• USC School of Architecture
• Roski School of Art and Design
• Iovine and Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation
• Marshall School of Business (World Bachelor in Business)
• USC School of Cinematic Arts
• Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
• Kaufman School of Dance
• Ostrow School of Dentistry (Junior Transfers Only)
• USC School of Dramatic Arts
• Viterbi School of Engineering
• Thornton School of Music

Need Some Extra Help?

The USC application process can be overwhelming, but PrepScholar is here to help you succeed ! Check out our resources below for more information about how our experts can help you achieve your dreams.

Haven't started your Common Application yet? No problem! We've got you covered with tips and tricks to make your application stand out from the crowd .

Start learning more about USC! Check out their admission requirements , mission statement, admission website, and this great blog post about getting to know USC without leaving your couch.

Still stressed about your supplement? Get in touch with PrepScholar's college admissions team !

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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September 12, 2023

2023-2024 USC Supplemental Essay Prompts

The University of Southern California has released its supplemental essay prompts for applicants to the Class of 2028. In addition to the Personal Statement on The Common Application , USC applicants will be required to answer one 250-word essay and several 100-character short answers. If an applicant took a gap year or their education was interrupted, they’ll need to answer another essay prompt in about 250 words as well. So, what are this year’s USC supplemental essay prompts, and how should they be approached? Let’s dive in!

2023-2024 University of Southern California Essay Questions and Short Answers

Essay questions.

Applicants should respond to the first prompt in approximately 250 words. Applicants who have a gap in their high school education should respond to the second prompt in approximately 250 words as well (this essay should not be completed if there is no gap in a student’s secondary education).

1. Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections.

This is a hybrid essay prompt: Why Major and Why College . To address the first aspect of the essay question, it would be beneficial for applicants to express to USC’s admissions committee why they wish to study one or two particular disciplines at USC by sharing the origin story of their interest in these disciplines. The origin story should always stem from an applicant’s high school experience. Too often, students choose instead to share anecdotes from their middle or elementary school years.

For the second aspect of the essay question, applicants must capture genuine specifics about why USC is the ideal institution to pursue this course of study. So many applicants choose to list classes and name-drop professors in Why College essay prompts when they should instead capture the enduring specifics of a course of study at a school. These enduring specifics could focus on programs, institutes, lecture series, traditions, etc. And every sentence in this portion of the essay should be tailored to USC. If a sentence is generic, it should be stricken from the record.

2. 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.

This essay fits into the only if applicable category. So, if a student has no gap in their high school studies, the essay should be left blank. If, however, a student has a gap in their high school studies, they should articulate it here. And ideally, it will be filled with no excuses and only positivity.

Short Answers

With the exception of the first short answer, which should be addressed in three total words, the short answers should be addressed in 100 characters or less.

1. Describe yourself in three words. 

First Word:

Second Word:

Third Word:

USC truly wants three words for these answers. While applicants can theoretically include 100 characters, that would defy USC’s instructions. Hopefully a student’s answers will capture their love of learning and desire to leave a mark on the world in a meaningful way.

2. What is your favorite snack?

While this short answer prompt may seem silly, we encourage applicants to give thought to their answers so they don’t read as merely silly. It could be an opportunity for an applicant to teach admissions officers something they don’t know about food.

3. Best movie of all time:

Applicants shouldn’t just name the movie. They should explain why. And hopefully the movie showcases their passions and fits with how they think. Also, applicants should avoid movies that could rub USC admissions officers the wrong way.

4. Dream job:

An applicant’s answer should fit neatly with their hook that they’ve hopefully presented in their activities and their essays.

5. If your life had a theme song, what would it be?

Applicants will ideally choose a song that shows some intellectual curiosity and, just like with the movie choice, applicants should avoid choosing a song that could rub USC admissions officers the wrong way.

6. Dream trip:

Don’t be afraid to keep it local! Traveling around the world can be perceived as privileged.

7. What TV show will you binge watch next?

Applicants should approach this short answer the same way they approach the movie choice — show how they think, avoid mindless TV, and don’t choose a show that will rub admissions officers the wrong way. If a student is an environmental activist,  Our Planet  could be a good choice — so long as the applicant explains why.

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

Applicants should dare to choose someone USC admissions officers haven’t heard of and teach them something. And don’t just name the person. Applicants should explain why they’ve chosen the roommate.

9. Favorite book:

Students should avoid choosing books that are required reading in classrooms across America, are intended for younger audiences, or have been adapted into films and television series. After all, that would not demonstrate that an applicant reads for pleasure — which is vitally important to express. And students shouldn’t only name the book. They should explain why it’s their favorite book.

10. If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?

The choice of topic should be consistent with the applicant’s hook as expressed in their activities section and, ideally, in their essays. Applicants should choose a pithy title for the course and, if there’s any room to explain what the course is about, by all means!

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with USC Essays

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4 University of Southern California (USC) EssaysThatWorked

Applying to USC in 2024 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 2024:

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.com

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Princeton Admitted Essay

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...

MIT Admitted Essay

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....

UPenn Admitted Essay

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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Supplemental Essay Guide 2024-25

What do the 2024-25 supplemental essay prompts really mean, and how should you approach them? CEA's experts are here to break them all down.

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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!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

How to Answer the USC Short Answer Questions (2023-24)

Prepare yourselves, dear readers: this is a comprehensive guide on how to answer the USC short answer questions. It’s quite in-depth; so, we hope this will be the only guide you need!

Many of our students ask us how to answer the USC short answer questions. Particularly, they’d ask, “What do they even want us to say?!”

Here’s the short answer (no pun intended): there’s no right way to answer the USC Short Answer Questions. Admissions officers just want to see the unique qualities that prove you’re human.

So, what does this mean?

It means that there is no “secret formula” that will guarantee acceptance. You need to show the qualities that make you, well, you. Additionally, you should answer this creatively. Creativity demonstrates to USC’s admissions officers your depth of thought and dedication to each short answer question no matter how small.”

In fact, based on the work we’ve done with previous students, interesting USC essays significantly increase acceptance rates.

And, funnily enough, during USC’s freshman orientations, they spend a good amount of time reading through accepted students’ short answer questions and complimenting how unique they are!

So, that drives the point home quite well: be unique!

Try to imagine this: universities typically want students attending their schools to be well-rounded, smart, and, well, human. Who is the student universities will want to accept? One who earns high marks and says whatever the school wants to hear? Or one who earns high marks and has a unique form of expression? The first option will probably do fine in USC, earn their degree, and work for someone to be another cog in the socio-economic machine. The second option will both do fine in the school and earn their degree; however, their unique qualities will make them more suitable for the school’s environment, and more likely their unique traits will resonate through their future career.

This is what USC, as well as many other universities, are fighting for. The short answer questions are a fine-tooth comb that helps them determine who the unique candidates with pioneering potential are.

Comparing the average acceptance rate to that of our clients, it is clear that giving your essays and short answer questions a unique twist is important.

This means in these questions you can’t be thinking in the mindset of, “What does USC want to see in my short answer question essays?” Rather, you need to think, “How can I demonstrate myself in a unique manner that shows I am a suitable candidate?”

Okay, so it’s important to show that we’re unique, right? Well, how on earth does one show that they’re a strong candidate as well through their favorite snack?

And the answer to that is… well, it’s hard. You must get creative.

The admissions committee at USC will be analyzing your answers here to some degree. However, they won’t know whether you’ll be a great engineer or business person based on your favorite snack.

Nonetheless, an interesting answer still helps admissions officers differentiate you from the rest. So, answer the question to highlight your unique character.

For instance: let’s say you’re applying as an engineering or computer science major. You choose The Godfather as your favorite movie. Such a movie may show an appreciation for film direction fundamentals in the wake of a hard science field. This adds a level of depth to you that exists beyond your major and future career interests. (effectively adding to the school’s diversity.)

This is how to answer the USC short answer questions. Unique answers demonstrate you can contribute some character or personality trait that is valuable to the school or your discipline.   

Alright, with us so far? Great!

Here’s a summary of how to answer the USC short answer questions

• Some answers are better than others, so be unique. Don’t just go for the obvious answers.
• USC gives these short answer questions because they want to differentiate between the robots and unique individuals.
• Show you’re a great candidate by demonstrating personality traits that USC would find useful for your discipline.

With that said, let’s get more in-depth about each USC prompt.

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Table of Contents

• 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?

1. Describe yourself in three words.

First Word: Second Word: Third Word:

Note: Because this is one of the most important parts of the USC short answer questions (including “dream job”) we would highly suggest speaking to us about your answers to this question prior to submission.

Remember: words are not limited to adjectives. Words like samurai may signify that you are someone of strict discipline, respect for tradition, and an appreciation of the arts such as poetry.

Be careful with the connotations of your words, though. Using words like “Batman” is a creative way to stand out amongst the rest of the applicants, but you’d also be wrestling with the dead-parents bat-outfit shenanigans.

You should also consider that the first, second, and third words may be used together to create one whole phrase.

For instance, we had a previous client use the words, “ready, set, go”, and this described their ferociously competitive nature. The only thing we would say about following this format is that you should use this if you feel that it truly resonates with your character.

The good thing is that this is a very creative way of approaching the admissions process at USC and there is no doubt that you will stand out. The disadvantage, however, is that you will lose the opportunity to have 3 separate words that individually show your character. In the end, it’s up to you to decide how you want to portray yourself.

2. What is your favorite snack?

You’re going to be introducing the reader into your life with this question –as you will with the rest of the questions.

Showing them what your favorite snack is will open up your life to the reader and allow the admissions officers to see a little bit more about you as a person. The answer should be useful in providing a window into your own personal life, and how that may fit with their campus culture.

For instance, one may say their favorite snack is…

• Dutch Bros coffee during midnight study sessions.
• Tears of the patriarchy you collected in Mason Jars.
• Thai Tea –half sugar, half ice, with boba.

These answers are strong because they give a window into what sort of person you are. Here’s an analysis of each one.

The first answer tells admissions officers that coffee is your favorite snack; and this shows that despite long nights working on schoolwork or projects, you may enjoy it. That means you’ll do fine and thrive in an academically rigorous environment.

The second one is, of course, not real –unless you’re literally collecting tears with jars, but they’ll know you’re joking. What makes this strong is that it allows the admissions officers to know a little bit more about your passions and sociological opinions, which tend to get inexorably tied up with university life. Declaring this would show you would fit in with the sociological environment of certain fields or majors such as “social justice” or “sociology”. The detail about the mason jar would also show that you are the sort who loves updated trends associated with inner-city life, which fits with the Los Angeles culture that you’ll need to acclimate to in USC.

The third one shows that you are connected deeply with your culture. If you are a person who holds their cultural roots deeply, you may want to consider showing that part of you. The details about sugar and ice levels as well as a topping of choice show that you are well-versed in the Asian food culture. It’s a way of proving that you truly are living in your culture and not just using it as a scapegoat for your college admissions essays.

What you don’t want to say is things like…

• Hot Cheetos
• Wheat Thins

These don’t work because they don’t really tell us much about you. There are plenty of people who like Chips Ahoy and Cheetos, but it would be difficult for an admissions officer to read that and draw from it any valuable information about you as a candidate.

Saying that you love certain things from a unique perspective, however, will help you stand out in the admissions process and even help them know more about you.

3. Best movie of all time:

There’s no wrong way of answering this. The common thing to think is that putting an answer like “The Force Awakens 2015” would make a deeply offended Star Wars fan in the admissions office scoff to themselves and think, “I wouldn’t want a Mary Sue apologist in my school! Rejected!”

Think about this scenario for a second and imagine yourself in the admissions officer’s shoes. Remember: these people are human too. Will you think to yourself that whilst having the admissions decision hang over the student’s head?

Unless you’re psychopathic, the answer to this is no. No one is going to judge you so harshly for your taste in movies that it would warrant a rejection from USC.

The only thing you can miss out on this question –and it’s actually quite important here because every advantage counts—is that you did not use a movie that shows your character.

Your movie should tell a story about you as a person to the USC admissions officers.  

If you said for instance that your favorite movie was “Children of Men 2006”, you’d demonstrate yourself as a person who appreciates artistic film that gets into the nitty-gritty dystopias.

This would add more flavor to the application and your readers will have a more fleshed-out idea of what your personality is like.

Here’s another example:

Computer science major who likes “Akira 1988”, a dystopian movie and classic Japanese animation. This movie would pair nicely with a computer science major as the fictional themes touch upon the effects of a futurist society gone wrong. These ideas would pair with a major in computer science and show you have a unique vision that is unique from the rest of the computer scientists who may not have the creativity to think big and draw from fantasy.

4. Dream job:

This one is one of the most important, so we would suggest that you speak with us at least once to see if your answer is sufficient.

It’s not easy to know how to answer the USC short answer questions, especially with how few words you can use. In fact, we would say that this is the most important one since it is directly tied up with your reason for pursuing a degree at USC, to begin with.

In other words: this section may make or break your application.  

Try to be honest with this one and have it correlate with what your decided major is. However, we would also suggest that you have a vision for WHAT YOU WANT TO DO added in there.

Most people don’t have dream jobs. Take any incredible job such as working for Goldman Sachs or being an engineer at Boeing. Imagine yourself doing that for years until you retire at 65. It’s not a pretty sight.

Instead, most people have a vision for what they want to do. That doesn’t mean sipping cocktails on an island. That means they want to pursue a field and contribute something great to it, whether it is to start their own business or create their own project or initiative.

So, a real dream job can be something like founding one’s own initiative to help provide clean energy to poor countries. Or, founding A studio to create your own films.

Dreams tend to be more far-sighted than near-sighted. Near-sighted goals will include working for other people until you reach retirement age. Typically, a dream job will be more profound than that and demand that you have a vision for what you want to do.

Think of this as the “ultimate goal career” you want to achieve. Any regular job will hardly help you stand out amongst the rest of the admissions pool.

5. If your life had a theme song, what would it be?

For obvious reasons, avoid any songs that are commonly played on the radio and appear far too often. Sadly, that means you can’t use Drake or BTS.

Popular songs are popular for a reason. But, we still want to stand out from the rest of the admissions pool. Common songs loved by all make it harder for admissions officers to interpret your character, not easier.

However, this section is quite easy because anything that you typically listen to would work fine.

Some people don’t have a good song that fits their personal life or their character. In fact, some people listen to sad music despite never being sad. Others listen to battle music despite being shy and introverted!

And that’s okay!

Use the song you love most (as long as it’s not generic.) If it truly speaks to your personal life and character, it will resonate throughout your application and work very well. If it doesn’t that’s fine too, as a personal song will still give your readers a window into your personality.

6. Dream trip:

This goes hand in hand with the previous short answer questions. As we said before, make sure your answer shows something about you as a person and isn’t something arbitrary.

A trip to your favorite hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant at 2:00 AM shows that you are someone who appreciates the inconspicuous and loves time alone to think deeply. Most people don’t get obscure food in the middle of the night without a night walk filled with deep thinking and appreciation for the silence.

Remember: trips are not just the place you go to. It is also what you do there.

It would not be enough to say that you would like to go to Japan. However, saying that your favorite dream trip is “getting lost in Neo Japan’s downtown lights” would show you have an appreciation for wonder and awe at the beauty.

On that note, don’t say common things like “long walks on the beach”. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s been overused on dating site descriptions so often that it is essentially impossible to know what sort of person you are from it.  

Also, we would suggest that you don’t connect your dream trip with your career. If you are an engineer, you wouldn’t want to say that you want to take a trip to an oil rig and appreciate the engineering work. Remember: university admissions officers want to see that you are human, so show a dream trip that shows you are human and beyond your career.

7. What TV show will you binge watch next?

It’s important that you choose a shoe that isn’t something that comes with a bad connotation. That doesn’t mean shows that cover dark topics. Hannibal is a great one, for example. What you probably don’t want to use are shows like Jersey Shore or My 600lb Life. These shows carry with them a bad reputation and they may give a negative impression to USC’s admissions office.

As always, choose a show that demonstrates your character.

Shows like Mad Men would show that you know the dangers of unhinged capitalism and materialism. Shows like The Sopranos would show you can understand the dangers of tyrannical powers.

Many of our students happen to love anime, and they may feel insecure about talking about it in an academic setting. So, can we talk about anime in this section?

The answer to that is, yes. You can talk about anime. However, some choices can be bad. Overall, it can really be a hit-or-miss situation.  

USC as well as any other university is open to anime. However, some choices are a bit distasteful. For obvious reasons, you’d want to avoid shows with unnecessary perverted images and shows that appeal to the sort of “low-brow” audience like Jersey Shore.

Because anime can be a hit or miss, we would suggest speaking with us about it prior to submission.

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

There’s no real disadvantage to choosing a well-known person or a fictional character, so you can choose whichever you like.

The only rule to this is that you should think of this as the TV show question. Think of a person or character who will have a positive connotation to your life. You don’t want someone who will show the admissions officers that you have a bad taste in people.

This question is also a way for admissions officers to know whether you will get along well with people you dorm with at the beginning of your quarter. If you are the type of person who would not get along well with living with other people, that may show through the answer that you give in this question.

Try to go for people who will make your positive traits shine and not reveal any negative traits.

For instance, Elon Musk would be a great roommate for those who always want to collaborate with other people and get their hands working on new projects. This choice will show admissions officers that you are a person who loves to collaborate with like-minded individuals.

9. Favorite book

Please don’t say that you don’t read. We know that this seems obvious, but we really don’t want to go that route when applying to academia.

On that note, there are actually very few people who do read often, and that’s understandable! In the age of technological innovation, there’s very little time to read books. Most people do their reading through social media and online articles.

So, what should you say about this one?

The rule still stands that you should choose something that demonstrates your character and is not too mainstream. However, there is another rule here that I think would be worth noting.

Do not use young adult dystopian novels in your answer. The reason for this is that the sudden boom in YA dystopias tends to be overused. There are great ones out there, but writing about it would make it difficult for you to stand out since you’ll be competing with the rest of the application pool with the same theme.

You don’t even need to have read the whole book to answer this question. You simply need to have read a bit of it to call it a day.

If you have not read many books that you feel comfortable using or you want suggestions for a good book, we would stick with ones that have archetypal themes that play a significant role in your everyday life. These books typically have patterns of symbols that work as great signifiers of your personality and can give the readers a great idea of who you are. Even better, it could even match with your major and field.

Talk with us if you want a good list of books that may serve as a good fit for you and your major!

10. If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?

Whatever you do, resist the urge to answer this prompt with your major. Instead, use the USC short answer questions as a way to creatively stand out.

Teaching a class about art as an art student or biochemical engineering as a biochemical engineering student is boring. These answers are no-brainers, and there’s NO REASON to think any school would ask a question pointlessly. So, think of this prompt as, “If you could give a Ted Talk on any subject, what would it be?”

Perhaps you’d like to discuss the problem of growing up as a man with society’s expectations of manhood. Maybe you’d like to teach a class on how to be more assertive as a woman since you’ve seen female friends never ask for raises or refuse to raise their hands in fear of being disagreeable.

These sample topics demonstrate a willingness to defy societal expectations and thus complement USC applicants looking to get leadership positions.

Whichever subject you choose, it will show admissions officers your priorities, experiences, and expertise. You may not be experienced in your intended major –because who is at this age anyway? However, everyone has unique experiences that give them the wisdom they can teach others. Make sure what subject you want to teach says something positive about your personality.

It’s not easy to know how to answer the USC short answer questions. There are a lot of nuances in each question. Additionally, you only have one chance to do it right. That’s why we suggest speaking with admissions experts who can help hold your hand throughout the process. Our team has helped students get into schools such as UCLA, UC Berkeley, and, of course, USC.

97 thoughts on “How to Answer the USC Short Answer Questions (2023-24)”

Ive been slowy filling out USC’s short answer questions and I need some help to figure out if my answers are effective. I would appreciate any help, thanks!!

Thanks for the reply! We can certainly help you out with them. We just sent you an email. Thanks!

Hello, would you be able to look at my answers/USC application?

Hi Sarah! I apologize for the late reply, but I’d be happy to help with your application! I sent you an email!

Hello! I am also wondering if my USC short answers will be effective. Could you provide any help? Thank you!!

No problem. We can take a look at those USC short answer questions with you and see what you’ve written. We sent you an email!

Hi, thanks for all the information. I came up with quite a few ideas and I would rly appreciate if you could have a quick look.

Hi! I came up with quite a few ideas and I would rly appreciate if you could have a quick look.

Hi Miranda Miao! Thanks for the request for help with your USC essays! I can certainly help out; I just sent you an email!

Hi. Thank you for the guide 🙂 It helped me a lot in writing a draft of USC’s short answers. I was wondering if it would be possible for you to take a quick look at them?

Hi Isabelle!

Thank you! We try our best to help our clients as much as possible through these guides! I can help you with your USC short answers. I’ve just sent you an email!

Hi, i have my answers but im not sure of them. could you help me review them.

Hi Vivian! Sure. I just sent you an email. Thanks!

Hi, thanks for the guide. I just brainstormed some answers, could you help me review them

Got it! We can help! I just sent you an email.

Hi! I was wondering if you would be able to help me brainstorm and review my answers? Thank you!

Thank you for your reply. I can certainly help you with that. I just sent you an email.

Hey! Could you help me brainstorm for my short answer essay prompts?

Hi Tejas, yup! I just sent you an email.

Hi! I was wondering if you could look over and review my responses so far! Thanks!

Hi Shawn. Sure, I just sent you an email!

Hello, can you help me review my responses. Thank you

Hi Elle! I got this just now and yes, I can. I sent you an email.

Hi! I submitted my applications today but ended up not picking the right second major choice (the one I talked about in one of my supplemental essays) how do I fix this? Does this ruin my chances at USC?

An asymmetry between what you stated in your essay and your major selection in the application can be a red flag; though, we can help you fix that! Your chances aren’t completely ruined, but I wouldn’t gamble on your chances and do nothing! There are a few steps you have to take and I can hold your hand through each step! I just sent you an email and we can continue from there!

Hi I was wondering if you should explain each of your choices? Example if I said I like chips, should I say I like chips because ______. Or just leave it that way?

Hi Mana! The USC short answer questions are a window to your personality. So, it would be a great help to show what your favorite snacks say about you. Here’s an example: “Chips. Even the dust at the bottom. Zero Waste.” This taps into that all-too-relatable feeling of getting all the chip crumbs at the bottom of the chip bag. It also shows we don’t like to waste food. Explanations may work depending on whether they could fit the character count. Would you be able to share with me some of your answers and essays? I sent you an email. Thanks!

Hi! I would love to have a review of my answers, is that possible?

Hi Lynette! Thank you for your comment! I can certainly review your answers. I sent you an email!

Hi! I’m an international student applying to USC and I’m having trouble answering. I would love some help

Hi Alejandro Merikansky! Thank you for your request! I am available and have sent you an email!

Hi, could you please help me to figure out the short answer question? Ty!!!!

Hi Jessie! Of course! I just sent you an email and we can move on from there!

Hi, I was wondering if you were able to take a look at my answers! If not, I understand.

Hi! Yes, I can! However, the deadline is close so we’ll have to be swift! Please email me directly at [email protected] . I also sent you an email and we can start from there.

Hi could you please review my answers? Thank you so much!

I’d love to help you with your answers and, if you need it, your USC essay questions too. I’ve sent an invite to your email. Thanks!

Hi, I would love some help with my USC short answers! Thanks

Hi Kaitlyn! I’d be happy to help with your USC short answer questions. I just sent you an email.

Hi! I have just finished my first draft USC short answer, and could you please help me to edit it? Thanks.

Hi! Do the short answer questions have to be explained in depth or can they just be one word/simple phrase answers? Thanks!

Hi Emily! Sometimes it’s fine to write one-word/simple phrases for your answers. The main objective should be showing that you have something unique to share in your short answer questions; that may mean making some of them a little longer. If you have any questions or would like more help with them, feel free to let me know!

Hello I am filling out the USC short answer questions about myself and I was wondering what I would write. THe main reason is to stand out and I have many ways I could I just need help forming it into a great writing piece.

Hi Maya! No problem; I can certainly help with that. I’ve sent you an email!

Hello! I am filling out my USC short answer questions and was wondering if you could help me edit them. Thank you so much!

No problem, I just sent you an email!

Hi.. I’m working on my short answers and wanted to see if you could look them over. I also have a rough draft essay that I was hoping you could give me your opinion on.

Hi Jordan! Thank you; I certainly can. I just sent you an email.

Hi! I need some help with my essays and short answers for USC, I was wondering if I was able to get your opinion on them please? Thank you!!

Hi Raquel! No problem; I just sent you an email!

Hi Luisa! Of course! I sent you an email.

Hi! Would it be possible for you to review my short answers?

Hi there! Sure! I just sent you an email!

I’ve formed a rough draft of my USC short answer questions and I need some help to figure out if my answers are effective. I would appreciate any help, thanks!

Hello! I’d be happy to. I sent more information to your email, thanks!

I have a rough draft of my answers and I don’t know if they’re good

Hi Pedro! Sure, I just sent you an email!

could you review my answers

Hi Pedro! Yup! I sent you an email.

Hello, can you review my short answer responses before the USC early action deadlines? Thank you so much!

Hi Francis! The deadline is reaching very close but I can certainly help. I sent you an email!

Hello. Would you be able to help me review my SAQs before the deadline? Thank you!

November 1st**

Hi Gina! I apologize for the late message. I am available to help with your essays. I just sent you an email.

Hi, I would like to review my short answer questions for the incoming transfer season, if you guys are available! 🙂

Hi Cassandra! Thanks for the comment, and no problem! I sent you an email!

Hello, I would like to review my short answer questions if it is possible. Thank you!

Hi Jonathan, yup! Thanks for the comment! I can certainly help and just sent you an email.

Hi, would you like to review my short answer questions for USC if it is possible? Thank you so much!

Hi Jeremy! Unfortunately during the time you submitted this comment we’ve been overwhelmed with requests for college essay help. So, we couldn’t get to your request sooner. However, we’d be happy to help now! I sent you an email!

To whom this may concern,

Hello, I would appreciate it if you could review my short-answer questions. Thank you!

Hi Calisa! No problem! I just sent you an email!

Could you review my essay and the short essay questions, I want to ensure I have the essay prompts right. I do have two essays with a 250-word count and I want to know which one sounds better.

Hi Quinsalyn! Thanks for your request, and no problem! I just sent you a link to your email to discuss how I may help!

Could you review my essay and short answers please? I would really appreciate it!! Thank you for your time.

Hi Quinsalyn! No worries! I just sent you an email discussing how I may help! Please check your email for it, thanks!

Hey, I was wondering if you could check over my USC short-response answers? Thank you so much!

Hi Vani! Of course! I just sent you an email!

Hy please I want you to review my usc short answers please 🙏

Hi Maroua! Thanks for the request! I’d be happy to help and just sent you an email where you can reserve a free consultation . Thanks!

Hi. Thank you for the guide. It helped me a lot in writing a draft of USC’s short answers. I was wondering if it would be possible for you to take a quick look at them?

Hi Kayla! I’m glad my guide helped out! I would also be happy to take a look at them plus your general USC essays and any other essays you may need help with! I just sent you an email where you can reserve a free consultation . Thanks!

Hi. Thank you for this information. I was wondering if it would be possible for you to give some suggestions on my responses?

Hi Kayla! Thanks, and no problem! I just sent you an email! (:

Hi! Thank you for the suggestions. I was wondering if it would be possible to still receive feedback on my short answers and the “ted talk” essay?

Hi Nicolas! Thanks! And no worries. You can still receive help and feedback on your USC essays and responses; I just sent you an email!

Hello, thank you for the suggestions! Do you mind reviewing my short answer responses? All help would be great 🙂

Hi Ky! Thanks, and sure! I just sent you an email where you can reserve a date and time with me to help with your essays and responses!

Hi! Thank you for the amazing advice. Would you be able to look over my responses?

Hi Aili! Thanks and no problem! I can certainly take a look at them and advise on your short responses + essays in general. I just sent you an email!

Hi, thank you for this advice! Would you be able to review my short answers?

HI AJ! Just replied to your other comment and am happy to help! Sent you an email! (:

Hi, thanks for this advice! Would you be able to review my short answers?

Hi AJ! Thanks for the request; I can certainly help and would be happy to do so. I just sent you an email!

Hi! This really helped me answer the SAQs. I’d love an extra opinion reading over my answers and essays! Would you be able to review them?

Hi Emma! No problem! I can certainly help and I just sent you an email. Thanks!

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• College Application

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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