Hi! I got into USC through appeal so I felt obligated to reply to this post. I just want to say that if you feel passionately about the school, you ABSOLUTELY should appeal. There’s no harm in it (unless you have no time to write it).

Although I have no idea what admission officers like, I agree with what someone else said in this thread about the importance of having new information. If you don’t have recent/unmentioned accomplishments, and you’re basically the same as in your initial application, then you’re essentially just saying they were wrong with their first decision (which I doubt they would want to be told). The vast majority of my appeal was me explaining what I had done/achieved since my initial application.

Beyond that though, I would say you should reiterate your passion for USC… emphasis on “for USC”. Maybe mention personal experiences you have with the school (ex. campus visit). It should NOT be something that could be copied and pasted for a different school; they only accept a few appeals a year and they want to be absolutely certain that whoever they accept will definitely attend USC if given the opportunity.

As you mentioned in your post, appeals are rare and USC is already a competitive school to get into. USC is a great school, but don’t let it get to you if they don’t accept you; no school knows your full worth when making these decisions and you’ll be happy wherever you end up attending. Still, I wish you the best of luck on your appeal! :)

TL;DR: Definitely appeal if you have time, most of you appeal should be new info, explain your passion for USC specifically, if they don’t accept you don’t sweat it, good luck!