My Long Way to USC

To become a student at USC is something I have planned many years ago.  After I graduated from High School in Israel, I had to make the decision whether to start attending college in America or to join the military in Israel.  After receiving advice from family and friends, I decided to join the military - which postponed my goal of attending college in America by three years.  However, I do not regret my decision.  I believe that the army actually prepared me for college.  This is because the military taught me time management skills, how to become independent, as well as many other great things.

Several weeks after I finished my three-year long service in the military, I took a flight to Los Angeles.  One of the first things I did after I arrived, was to visit the USC campus and to talk with the admissions office.  After having a discussion with an admission officer, I understood that my best chance of getting in to USC was to first attend community college and then to apply as a transfer student.  I was a little disappointed but my desire to study at USC was so strong, that I was willing to do almost anything to become a student at USC.

After doing some research, I found out that Santa Monica College is one of the best community colleges in the nation with the highest acceptance rate to USC.  This made me go there in person and talk to their admissions office as well.  Quickly it became clear, that as an international student, I would need to go through a process to become even a student at Santa Monica College.  Some part of this process was that I had to obtain a student visa - otherwise I could not attend college in America.  Only this process took me several months.  Once I received my visa, I returned to Santa Monica College.  Now, I was asked to attend an Intensive English Program.  Having no other choice, I agreed and took the four-month program.  Finally, after the English program, I was allowed to take college classes.  After two and a half years at Santa Monica College, I finally applied to USC, as well as to other universities.

I received numerous acceptance letters and was still waiting to hear back from USC.  One day, I received a package from USC - and this was the time where I knew that the long wait was over.  That moment when I read the "Congratulations!" on the letter was certainly one of the happiest moments I had in my life.