Year after year, during college admissions season, the internet floods with hundreds of videos of hopeful highschool seniors repping crewnecks from their dream schools either weeping from tears of joy, or, devastation. An acceptance letter can feel like the golden ticket to a “world of opportunity” and the lack of one, condemnation to a future of uncertainty.
The University of Southern California (USC) boasts a 9.8% admission rate as of 2024, claiming a “holistic view” to the admissions process. The undergraduate admissions office reminds the anxious and generally highschool-aged, applicants that they are simply looking for students they believe will “thrive at USC.”
“Remember, there’s a person on the other end of your application; we’re just trying to get to know you.” This quote from Becky Chassin, the Assistant Dean of Admission, is posted in bold red font under a page labeled “Prospective Students.”
For the Class of 2028, USC’s 145th entering class, 82,027 “prospective students” applied, making it a little difficult to get to know them all.
As most college students come to find out, the world of academia is not that black and white, and the eye-roll inducing, parental advice that “college is what you make of it” might actually be true. While it is true that certain fields obsess over pedigree and some schools provide an edge, network and resources that others do not, ultimately, you determine your experience. Transfer students understand the power in controlling your destiny more than most.
Both Ashley Bland, a USC junior, and Lucas Black, an LMU junior, had USC as their top choice and received USC rejection letters as highschool seniors. But they were offered a silver lining, the opportunity to work with the Marshall Pathways Program, during their freshman years, in order to guide their transfer into the USC Marshall School of Business as Sophomores.
“It was almost a guaranteed transfer, but I had to have a certain GPA and classes completed in order to transfer,” shared Bland, a Minnesota native. “I had it in the back of my mind, but I wasn’t really set on it. I was like, I love LMU, I don’t know if I want to apply. My mom was like, girl, you’re gonna apply.”
“Because USC was my top choice out of highschool, I knew I wanted to do this program. It was always the plan to go to USC, but I decided not to go to community college for my first year because I still wanted to have a real college freshman experience, and I wanted to be in a 4-year in case the transfer plan didn’t work out,” said Black.
Amusingly, both Black and Bland heard about LMU from their highschool counselors because they wanted to attend school in southern California. Begging the question, how many previous USC hopefuls were given LMU as an alternative and are cruising Palm Walk today?
Not only does the admissions rate more than double for USC transfer students compared to first-year students, 72% of this year’s transfer class hailed from colleges in California, with LMU placing 11th on the Most Represented Sending Institutions list. 55% of the class transferred from California Community Colleges and only 6% from California Independent Institutions, like LMU. Attending a school like LMU may increase your transfer chances, but it is no guarantee.
“I was excited at the time thinking about being at USC, especially because it is a prestigious school, so I felt that I had to take the opportunity.” Black specified that he never had any bad experience or big reason to leave LMU, he just wanted to stick with his original plan.
With an acceptance rate of around 40% and an estimated total cost of on-campus attendance around $89,487, transferring out of a school like LMU is not a small decision. However, trading up for greater prestige has its benefits.
Although she loved the people and classes at LMU, Bland craved a more passionate school spirit that not only got students involved but incentivized alumni to stay connected to their collegiate roots. She recalls the LMU campus nearly emptying on weekends and spotting LMU students wearing USC sweatshirts to class. This summer, someone yelled the USC slogan, “Fight On” to Bland while wearing her sorority backpack on a train in New York City.
“Not having a football team definitely affects that, but I do know so many people at USC that will go home over the weekend if there’s not a game day or parties.”
Beyond the school spirit, USC offered Bland a much greater financial aid package than LMU, and as a Finance major, Bland noticed how much the university you attend can mean in the career she wants to pursue.
“Within the world of finance, in a male dominated field, everything is so competitive. It’s just so annoying, and I wish it didn’t, but the school that you go to means a lot,” said Bland. “When I say I go to USC to people, they’re more interested to hear what I have to say, they step back a little bit.” She mentions that it’s also been nice to not have to describe what the school she went to was (LMU).
Because of delayed construction on a new apartment complex, Black and Bland spent their first few months as Trojans living in a hotel with a stipend to cover everyday costs. Despite this inconvenience, they then had to tackle arguably the most dreaded hurdle transfer students face, socially acclimating to their new environment.
Black rushed a fraternity early on, as Greek Life is popular at USC and the “go-to” way to get involved on-campus. “I really liked the people, but I did not want to commit all my time and energy into the initial fraternity process during my first semester,” he said. The “pledge” process is notoriously brutal, so instead, he walked onto the football team. Because of the team’s busy schedule of practices and meetings, Black quickly fell behind in classes, causing him to leave the team to focus on his priorities.
“After I dropped the fraternity and quit football, it was tough to meet new people and socialize outside of class. As a sophomore you don’t get as many opportunities to meet people in your year, as most of them already have established their friend groups. I knew this coming in, but for some reason I didn’t think it would be as difficult as it sounded.”
Both Black and Bland advise students looking to transfer to know how the school you’re transferring into treats transfer students and to proactively meet new people, put yourself out there and get involved on campus.
Bland rushed as well and ended up joining a sorority. As a uniquely charismatic social butterfly, Bland may be an anomaly; she could genuinely befriend someone without even speaking the same language, but her advice, “just be yourself.”
It’s this sentiment that is key to the transfer process. Be yourself and know yourself. Despite universities’ claims about “getting to know you,” only understanding your own values and goals can allow you to make the best decision for you.
For Bland, USC was the right choice, a dream come true. When asked if she was proud to be at USC, she answered, “Oh, 100%, coming from a small town in Minnesota, not everybody gets this opportunity, you know. I find myself smiling when I’m on campus. I kind of dreamed of going here. I love my school.”
As previously mentioned, Black is a current LMU junior. He regretted having left the relationships he made at LMU after visiting them at LMU at least once a month while at USC. “…it really hit me that I would be much happier going back considering I could live with my friends,” he shared. For Black, going back to LMU was the right decision because he knew himself and what was important to him.
He advised that, “You want to stay true to yourself and listen to your needs because it is easy to try and change yourself to fit in. I believe that you will always end up where you need to be with who you need to be with, and for me that was back at LMU. But for other people who transfer out, if you step outside your comfort zone while staying true to your identity the right people will come along, wherever that might be.”
