2014 USC Leventhal MAcc/ MBT

Congrats foolish! Are you doing the summer intensive?

Thanks Laser! :D

I will be skipping the summer intensive program as I've fulfulled the pre-reqs at a local community college. Although it's not conventional, I found it cheaper and more efficient to do it this way since Summer intensive program alone is over $10K! I was also an econ major as an undergrad. so finished micro/macro-econ years ago.

@foolish, i took the same route as you, took them at a community college...what CC did you take your classes at?

Also, does anyone here currently live in LA or the surrounding SoCal area?

me living in L.A right now.... did anyone hear from financial aid yet???

did you guys get anything in the mail from USC besides an email acceptance?

I submitted all of my financial aid information two days ago, so I will hear back from them later.

I am going to my parents house (USC mailing address) tonight so ill let you know if I've gotten anything from the mail.

Have you guys heard anything about the USC welcome website for new MAcc students?

I submitted like around 2-3 weeks but haven't heard anything and the summer bills are coming...
@music: Nope, just a congrats E-mail with the scholarship infor and a mail sending from grad school in general...I didn't receive a letter from leventhal accting school tho ( a lit disappointed/ I expected a huge congrats package including a thick, classic, awesome smelled-acceptance letter along with colorful magazine-like documents about the school and the coming orientation lmao ) But anyway, we got in tho...
I get access to the macc/mbt; myusc and usc email already~~

How long did it take for them to give you access to your USC account after you submitted your CIR and the 500 deposit?

Hey guys, as someone looking to apply to USC next year, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions and get your opinions on whether or not my application is anywhere close to being competitive. Or just to see if someone in a similar situation has gotten admitted.

I attended a lower tier UC, double majoring in molecular biology and economics and graduated with a GPA of 2.78. Originally I was just a bio major and primarily got C's with the occasional B thrown in. A quarter before graduating, I decided to stick around another year and took on econ as my second major. My grades improved to mostly B's and a few A's. I never got a grade lower than a B in any class related to the econ major. After graduating, I went back to community college and took 47 units worth of accounting, tax, and business classes, maintaining a 4.0 GPA. With the CC classes added in, my overall GPA is a 2.95. For the next 5-6 months, I plan on studying for the gmat and will hopefully at least score the 650 average. I'll probably end up applying in December.

Assuming I get a decent gmat score, do I stand a chance at getting in or am I screwed because of my gpa? I know it's far below the average, but would the upswing in grades be able to make up for some of it? Does admissions focus more on your recent coursework? My gpa in the last 60 units would be a 3.78. Would admissions be willing to overlook or somewhat forgive the bio grades being that it's a difficult major, and focus on the classes that are more related to accounting? And how much do extra curriculars and work experience factor into the decision? Aside from being a tutor at CC for intro accounting classes, I literally have jack squat. I've been trying to get an internship but no one will take me because of the sub 3.0 gpa lol

So give it to me straight guys, do I have a chance? If not, is there anything I can do to improve my application? Be as blunt as you want. I'd rather have my dreams crushed now than be delusional for the next year.

If you're worried about GPA, don't sweat it! Go to the MAcc Acceptances thread from 2010-2013, you will find people that got accepted into USC with low GPA's = 2.7-2.9, however they one thing they all had in common was a gmat score 650+. Just focus on a good GMAT score, as they will weigh that more.

I took a few at SMC and some from Coastline. Definitely saved thousands of dollars~



You definitely have a chance. Making the cut in the program isn't all about grades but really showing that you're a well-rounded individual who can "fit in". My interviewer asked me questions relating to my future goals and what I why I chose accounting, which is what I think did it for me. Not a single question about my GMAT score was asked. Instead, we finished our conversation talking about the weather and how awesome Griffith Observatory is lol.