Incoming class is full of talent

Statistics show that the incoming class of 2017 is the most selective and competitive class in USC’s history. The class was chosen out of the largest pool ever, 47,300 applications.

USC accepted less than 19.7 percent of applicants, a slight decrease from last year, were accepted. The average SAT score rose substantially, about eight to 10 points, according to Director of Admissions Kirk Brennan.

The university also saw an increase in international student applicants, especially students from India. The new Marshall World Bachelor of Business program attracted international students as well.

“The more diverse the student body in the classroom and in the community, the better the education and the stronger the student will be,” Brennan said.

Domestically, roughly 33 percent of students are from southern California.

In addition to being a statistically impressive upcoming class, the students also boast a wide range of interests and talents.

Aaron Spiro, a music industry major, is one of those students. Spiro and high school friend Adam Novodor produced a remix of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” that was featured as a bonus track on Thicke’s Target Deluxe edition of the album. KIIS FM, a local radio station, recently played the track on air.

Spiro and Novodor formed a music production company, Bee’s Knees, and were recently invited by Warner Bros. to remix “My Gun” by the Australian band The Rubens.

“My favorite part of being a producer is reaching milestones, like being featured on ‘Blurred Lines,’” Spiro said. “I chose USC because of the wonderful music industry program at Thornton and because USC is located in the heart of the music industry.”

Alya Omar, majoring in international relations (global business), volunteered in 2011 at an Egyptian special needs orphanage that had financially collapsed after the revolution.

Omar and her mother, who have family in Egypt, raised more than $1,200 for the orphanage and then flew to Cairo to visit.

“The best thing about that place was being able to look at that kind of heartache and of instead of wishing I could do something, it was knowing that I did,” Omar said.

The impressive array of talent that the class of 2017 exhibits will provide USC with well-rounded individuals aiming to make a difference, on campus and off.