thythydo
thythydo,
USC
B.S., Public Policy Analysis
Proud to be a Trojan!
Features Included
10
Essays
23
Schools
7
Scores
6
Advice
3
ECs
2
Sports

Background

Hometown San Jose, California
GenderFemale
EthnicityAsian
Class of2024
First Gen College StudentNo

Results, Essays, and Advice

Accepted
Waitlisted or Withdrew
Denied
  • University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN)
  • University of California - Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
  • University of California - Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
  • California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo, CA)
  • University of California - Irvine (Irvine, CA)
  • University of California - Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA)
  • University of California - Davis (Davis, CA)
  • Tufts University (Medford, MA)
  • Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
  • Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)
  • San Diego State University (San Diego, CA)
  • University of California - San Diego (La Jolla, CA)
  • Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)
  • University of California - Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
  • Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)
  • Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH)
  • Boston University (Boston, MA)
  • Duke University (Durham, NC)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)
Tap/click a school logo above to view essays and advice specific to that school.

University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)

Applied for a B.S. in Public Policy Analysis

Accepted and Enrolled Legacy: No

School Specific Essays

Personal Statement
644 Words
Interest in fine arts
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Most afternoons during elementary school, I could be caught perusing my grandpa's National Geographic collection, while my mom was at work. Neither the aroma of my grandma's food nor her scolding me to eat could keep me away from the pages of those magazines. Only after many minutes would I get up to enjoy the food she had made. Soon after, I would rush back to explore the photographs, traveling the world. Realizing my interest in photography, my grandpa gave...
Read more...
Personal Statement
348 Words
Leadership experience
Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
Every Sunday morning, I would see my fellow Venture Crew members joylessly walk into the meetings. I joined the crew because I saw a brochure for Venturing, depicting high adventures and young adults practicing leadership and technical skills. However, our meetings involved a flag ceremony and scouts scrolling through their phones until it was time to go home. I knew that I was not receiving the ideal experience from being in this scout crew, but rather than joining another crew,...
Read more...
Personal Statement
354 Words
Interest in fine arts
What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
As I walk through any tourist destination, I see cameras of all kinds, pointed in every angle imaginable. With just one click, we can retain a memory that may have otherwise lasted a millisecond. For me, photography is not just a way to capture memories. It is art. As with many beginning artists, I was sometimes discouraged. My skills were not developed and I worried that I did not have the right gear to be successful. I did not have...
Read more...
Personal Statement
354 Words
Overcoming personal struggle
Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
I took all my struggles to my mom. Even though she was not fluent in English, she helped me work on poems for my third grade assignments. When I was too scared to ask for the bathroom key at McDonald’s, I begged her to ask for me. If I did not understand the material in class, I asked my mom rather than the teacher. I was an extremely shy child, and she was my voice. I survived by relying...
Read more...
Personal Statement
358 Words
Extracurricular passion, Interest in med/sci/math
What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
Kids, ages six to eleven, eagerly hold their robots, waiting for their turn to race. Six hours prior, none of them had ever touched a robot-making kit. They come from low-income families that do not have the finances to provide them with this experience. However, by the end of the day, they have learned how to build a robot and program simple commands for it. As Vice President of Programs of the non-profit, STEM in Motion, I am responsible for...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
252 Words
Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections.
Growing up in a low-income household, with my mom having breast cancer and losing her job, I noticed her overwhelming concern about healthcare. As I became older, I realized the roots of her concerns. There is a discrepancy in healthcare processes among different socioeconomic classes. Thus, physicians have a responsibility to know how their patients’ financial stability relates to their healthcare and pharmaceutical options. As a pre-medical student studying Public Policy at USC Price, I will choose the Health Policy...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Intellectual interest
249 Words
USC faculty place an emphasis on interdisciplinary academic opportunities. Describe something outside of your intended academic focus about which you are interested in learning.
I have been immersed in the arts my whole life. A guitar and keyboard sit in my room while my charcoal, watercolor and pastel drawings plaster a quarter of one of my bedroom walls. However, I am most fond of the camera and lens that lay on my shelf. Being a photographer, I often network with videographers. I quickly found myself pressing the video start button almost as much as the shutter release button. I started to make travel videos,...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
304 Words
In 300 words or less, help us understand what aspects of Northwestern appeal most to you, and how you’ll make use of specific resources and opportunities here.
Instead of worrying about her health and procedures for her breast cancer, my mom was concerned about medical insurance and losing her job. There was a new treatment at UC Davis for my sister’s alopecia that seemed promising. It would cost $10,000, so she never contacted them. When I needed my wisdom teeth removed, she searched for months to find a clinic that would accept our medical insurance. As I grew up, I realized the roots of my mother’s...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
149 Words
Which aspects of the Tufts undergraduate experience prompt your application? In short, ‘Why Tufts?’
Throughout my tour of Tufts, one characteristic stood out that my tour guide mentioned: collaboration. She told us how students from disparate areas of study would meet each other in Tisch library to discuss and learn. She once missed class for sports, but a classmate did not hesitate to review the lesson with her. As a pre-medical student, I hope for supportive peers who will lead me to new perspectives in my undergraduate years. She also said that students at...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Extracurricular activity
357 Words
Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences.
Kids, ages 6 to 11, eagerly hold their robots, waiting for their turn to race. Six hours prior, none of them had ever touched a robot-making kit. They come from low-income families that do not have the finances to provide them with this experience. However, by the end of the day, they have learned how to build a robot and program simple commands for it. As Vice President of Programs of the nonprofit, STEM in Motion, I am responsible for planning the...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
253 Words
If you are applying to the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences as a first year applicant, please discuss why you consider Duke a good match for you. Is there something particular about Duke that attracts you?
At Duke, I will pursue a major in Public Policy with a certificate in Child Policy. As the Vice President for STEM in Motion, a non-profit providing disadvantaged youth with robotics workshops, not only have I led workshops, but I also spearheaded the expansion of the workshops to young girls. As a swim instructor, I give free lessons to families that otherwise could not afford them through Safety around Water. Working with these children has deepened my interest in how...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Diversity statement
221 Words
Duke University seeks a talented, engaged student body that embodies the wide range of human experience; we believe that the diversity of our students makes our community stronger. If you'd like to share a perspective you bring or experiences you've had to help us understand you better-perhaps related to a community you belong to or your family or cultural background-we encourage you to do so. Real people are reading your application, and we want to do our best to understand and appreciate the real people applying to Duke.
When I was 4 years old, I remember sitting on old rusted stairs outside of an apartment building as my mom held back her tears, my little sister in her arms, waiting for my uncle to come pick us up because we had been evicted for not paying the rent on time. Over the next thirteen years, I lived in many places. We rented apartments and mobile rooms. Our longest and most recent place was a shared room. There was no...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
241 Words
We all have a story to tell. And with over 5,000 undergraduate students on our campus, that is over 5,000 stories to share and learn. What’s yours?
I have always wanted to throw a birthday party at home. However, there was a problem: I did not have one. When I was 4 years old, I remember sitting on old rusted stairs outside of an apartment building as my mom held back her tears, my little sister in her arms, waiting for my uncle to come pick us up because we had been evicted for not paying the rent on time. Over the next thirteen years, I lived in...
Read more...
Supplemental Essay: Intellectual interest
299 Words
Tell us about something that really sparks your intellectual interest and curiosity and compels you to explore more in the program/area of study that you indicated. It could be an idea, book, project, cultural activity, work of art, start-up, music, movie, research, innovation, question, or other pursuit.
I dry off during my 5 minute break. I have just finished teaching my private swim lesson. However, my next class is different. Each year, the YMCA hosts Safety Around Water, a program providing low-income youth with free swim classes. I excitedly greet my new students and their parents and we hop in the water, refreshed from the scorching sun. My laminated lesson plan is propped up, ready to go. As I progress through the lesson, I struggle to successfully teach...
Read more...

School Specific Advice

What might make for a good “Why Us” essay topic at my school
13 Words
USC wants a diverse...
Read more...

More Essays

These essays haven't been tagged by school. Click school logos above to see tagged essays.

General Admissions Advice

Misconceptions I had about college before attending
38 Words
I previously thought that I had to be the most well-rounded...
Read more...
My insights about AP (Advanced Placement) courses and exams
28 Words
Don't take AP courses/exams just because it...
Read more...
How to deal with the stress of applying to college
46 Words
Find a balance in your life. Go to that school dance, that party, that...
Read more...
My advice about getting recommenders
83 Words
Start thinking about reccomenders in Sophomore year! Request your letters right when senior year starts. This means that you will most likely not be asking...
Read more...
Post-college plans
22 Words
I plan on pursuing a Masters of...
Read more...

High School Performance

Weighted GPA
4.42
(equivalent to 4.00 unweighted)
Rank
Top 1%
 
Academic Performance in High School Steady

Test Scores

Highest ACT
34
 
ACT Score Details
 
Other ACT Scores
ACT Prep
Highest SAT
1470
 
SAT Score Details
 
Other SAT Scores
SAT Prep

AP / IB Classes and Scores

Details5 classes and scores

Sports

SportsGolf, Swimming/Diving

Extracurriculars

ActivitiesAsian Club / Asian Interactive Youth Association, Boy/Girl Scouts, Robotics

Experience & Awards

Similar Profiles

go_somewhere
USC


Accepted to USC, UC Irvine, UCSB, UCSD, LSU

Only here to help!
lydia.buzzard
USC


Accepted to UNC, GA Tech, USC, Kenyon, Alabama

I'm a Computer Science major at USC with a love for writing, taekwondo, and hair bows.
MalikaMohan
USC


Accepted to USC, NYU, CU, Emerson, Santa Clara, UCSB, U Oregon

Communications student (Annenberg) at University of Southern California with a minor in Applied Analytics (Viterbi).
angelinashao
USC


Accepted to USC, BU, UCLA, UCSD, NYU, Washington, Case, Oregon State, U Oregon, Gonzaga

A slightly awkward, but also motivated student who loves dogs and food.
anishmahadeo99
USC


Accepted to USC, UCLA, NYU, Alabama, Penn State, Binghamton, Case, Ohio State, Syracuse

USC Class of 2020, Biochemistry pre-med