Class of 2025 admits react to admissions decisions

When Randy Tun found out he got into USC, his dad was sleeping — but not for long.

Tun, who will major in business administration, said he opened the long-awaited application status update, spent 30 seconds staring at his phone screen in shock, teared up a little bit, celebrated with his mom, then rushed into the room where his dad was fast asleep.

“Yo, Dad, I got in! I got in!” Tun said. 

Tun’s dad jumped out of bed: “LET’S GOOOOOOO,” he said. And the celebration began.

Tun is the first person in his family to attend college. Without the guidance of someone who had applied to college before, he relied on outside reading and YouTube to learn about the process. It was tedious and rough, Tun said, but he managed to get through it.

In USC’s class of 2025, Tun is far from alone. One in five students admitted are first generation college students, the highest in USC history — 3% more than last year’s class and 5% more than the year before. 

Additionally, 8% of students admitted into the class of 2025 are Black and 18% are Latinx, also an increase from the past two years. 

While more diverse than in years past, the percentage of Black and Latinx students admitted at USC is not exceptional compared to other universities. NYU’s class of 2024 was 9% Black and 18% Latinx, and Harvard’s class of 2025 is 18% Black, though only 13.3% Latinx.

Vincent Demonte, who will major in journalism, was accepted into USC back in February when he learned he would be considered for a full scholarship. Both of Demonte’s parents attended USC, so for him, it was a dream come true.

“Basically from the moment I was born, I’ve been living the USC life, going to football games all the time. I’ve been on campus a ton of times before … Opening that letter to see that I’d gotten into USC and also was up potentially for a full ride scholarship to USC, it just blew me away,” Demonte said. 

Demonte, who is Latino, said he is encouraged by the diversity of the class of 2025, which is, by many measures, the most diverse in USC history. 

“That’s the best way, honestly, to get a glimpse at the world that only college can really provide,” Demonte said. “Understanding different points of view and seeing how other people from across the United States and from different backgrounds, how they live and their own set beliefs on the world. I think it’s just an awesome way to get to know people.”

Morgan Dodero, who will major in psychology, said that once she knew she was accepted, she screamed, hugged her family, then called everyone she could think of. 

It felt especially good, she said, because of how the pandemic disrupted her junior and senior years of high school. 

“My senior year was definitely not what I expected at all,” Dodero said. “Almost all of my activities got interfered with somehow or just cut off altogether. So being able to end the year, and [say], ‘OK, yes this year wasn’t the best, but I got into USC, and I get to look forward to the next four years.’”

For Tun, Demonte and most of the class of 2025, the last few years of high school — without proms, sports seasons and even seeing friends everyday without masks — was far different, and in many ways more challenging, than what most students experience. 

Tun, Demonte and Dodero were all relieved by USC’s decision to drop its SAT/ACT requirement, and none of the three submitted an SAT or ACT score. Only Demonte took the test, and all three said that not needing to submit their score helped them get in by highlighting parts of their personalities that go beyond a test score. 

Without the score, Tun said that he could express himself more through his essays. 

“I kind of showed off my interests in things like sports or stock trading and stuff like that, kind of just show off who I am as an individual, rather than ‘oh, a test score that shows that I’m smart,’” he said. 

Demonte, on the other hand, took the ACT once. Afterwards, he was scheduled to take the SAT two or three times, but each time, it was canceled because of the coronavirus. Ultimately, he said that losing the requirement helped him for similar reasons as Tun: he could highlight who he was and what he’s passionate about — like comedy — rather than just a test score. 

USC is planning a full return to campus in the fall, with in-person classes and students in dorms. After an up and down, unusual application process, Tun said he is just happy — and maybe a little surprised — that he will be coming to USC in the fall.

“I had kind of been doubtful of my acceptance,” he said. “I actually got rejected from some of the UCs, and it kind of put me in a doubtful position for my dream college. And when I got the result, I was just like ‘Wow man, that’s crazy.’”