<p>Okay, so first off I'd like to say that I'm applying to several schools but USC is my top pick. My violin teacher is a professor @ Thornton (but that doesn't really help I think) and here are my stats...</p>
<p>SAT I: Not submitted yet
SAT II: Scores will be up June 23
APs: Music Theory, Literature, Statistics</p>
<p>Subjective:
Essays: Assume they are stellar
Counselor rec: Will probably be pretty good</p>
<p>Location/Person:
State/Country: California
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Egyptian
Gender: Female</p>
<p>Other Factors:</p>
<p>EC's -- Over 100 hrs of community service
Colburn Orchestra da Camera
Colburn Chamber Orchestra
Colburn School Annual Recital
Masterclasses w/ LA Phil members
Member of HS book club, math club, and fashion club
American Honors Performance Series @ Carnegie Hall</p>
<p>Do you guys think I have a chance @ Thornton? I want to double major in Violin Performance & Music Industry</p>
<p>I can’t speak about the academic side (not really knowing USC’s academic reqs, though I hear they are high) nor can anyone else really (you don’t mention your GPA, nor your SAT scores, so there is little to go on), but for the music side admission for violin performance is going to depend on your audition and how you do on it. The orchestras you have been in,masterclasses, etc are not going to mean much or anything there, it is all about the audition and how the panel feels about your playing that day and how it stacks up against others auditioning to get in. You do have some advantages studying with a teacher who teaches there, they know the level and assuming they know you want to apply there, it means they think you have the ability to meet the requirements, plus you have at least one teacher who would be willing to teach you if you get in, and you would be getting a teacher you know. There also are those who believe that a teacher pulling for you to get in can influence admissions to a certain extent and I suspect in some cases there is some truth to that, but how much who knows…on the other hand, it isn’t going to hurt, either:).</p>
<p>Teachers cannot pull you in. Believe me, I know this 110%…and I know that the audition is the most important aspect of admissions but I’m just concerned w/ my SATs. I took it for the first time last month and I got a 1500…T_T</p>
<p>Lifeofsolitude,
I do not really know much about USC admissions except to give you some anecdotal information from my D’s high school graduating class. We live close to USC.
Pretty much it is the same people getting into USC academically as are getting into Berkeley and UCLA. (Very tough). These students took lots of AP’s. Avg SAT for USC now is around 2100.
I have observed that over the years, USC tends to take a more holistic approach. In other words, if your SAT is 1500 and your parents are migrant farm workers or immigrants with little education but instilled in you a great will to succeed, and you otherwise show great promise, then you might get in. If both of your parents are engineers or college professors, you will not likely get in on academics. (You get the basic idea: How far did you get with the cards you got dealt?)
Can’t say anything about the music, except that at least for clarinet, and this may be true on other instruments, double majoring is required and musical talent alone may not be enough to get you in. It is amazing how many musically talented people are also very, very bright students.</p>
<p>Best of luck. There are many fine schools out there. Might want to put in some time practicing for the SAT this summer and try it again in the fall, and consider trying the ACT.</p>
<p>Lifeofsolitude, forgot to mention that if you are interested in staying local, you should definitely check out UCLA. You are admitted on audition for the music degree, then you just have to meet the UC academic minimum for acceptance. It is possible to double major. It is a great program with a lot to offer, with the added bonus of being at an amazing university in one of the most culturally diverse cities of the world.</p>
<p>ClRN8MOM, double majoring is not required at USC Thornton or any other school at USC. Not sure where you got that idea.</p>
<p>As for the OP’s question, yes, grades matter, but a stellar audition can overcome “good enough” grades, if you are one of the best to audition. USC wants to know that you can succeed at the school academically, so weak grades/STATS can also keep you out, even with a “good enough” audition.</p>
<p>This is from the freshmen profile on the USC website. Statistics are not out yet for the class that will enter this August. For the last few years SAT scores for admitted freshmen have been rising about 20-30 points per year. Admitted freshmen middle 50% combined score was 2030-2240 for the class that entered in August of 2010.</p>
<p>jazz/shreddermom, when my D applied to USC (Nov 2010) double majoring was required for clarinet performance. Clarinet is particularly competitive at USC.</p>
<p>Very strange. A quick look at the current wind curriculum online shows no mention of double-majoring. </p>
<p>At any rate, Violin performance majors (the OP is interested in violin) have only 6 elective units, so double-majoring isn’t even possible, at least not in 4 years. And there is no mention of double-majoring in the degree requirements for violin, either on the admissions website or the pdf for all Thornton degree requirements.</p>
<p>Apologize tremendously for posting incorrect information previously. I did call Thornton today and there is no double majoring requirement for ANY instrument. Seemed odd to me that I was so strongly sure of this for clarinet. Did some investigating including checking with D, and discovered that on her application to USC, she was required to put down a secondary major to Clarinet Performance. Also, based on information we know about a specific situation there (sorry can’t elaborate), we were led to believe what we believed. And since D wanted to do dual degree anyway, we didn’t question.
Moral of the story, always verify! And many thanks to jazz/shreddermom for keeping me on my toes, and not shredding me.</p>
<p>CLRN8MOM, aha! Yes there was a space for a “second choice” major on the USC application, so that might be what you are remembering. If students don’t get accepted to their first choice major (as is often the case with auditions, portfolios, more competitive majors, etc.), they are automatically considered for acceptance as “undeclared” or for the second choice major if one is specified, provided they do any necessary additional auditions, etc. :)</p>
<p>Well…my teacher just wants me to focus on my audition, however, I want to know what is 6 elective units? What does that mean and how many classes are required for both General and Violin Performance?</p>
<p>I was just considering double majoring, but if not i’ll just settle for Violin Performance. It’s my dream school and I want this more than anything! Is there anything else I can do to increase my chances?</p>
<p>Btw, I’m taking the SAT 2 more times and the ACT 2 more times…</p>
<p>6 elective units means that after your major requirements and GE requirements (there are 8 GE courses required for music performance majors, including the writing requirement - it works out to one per semester, fairly typical for a BM) there are 6 units of “open” electives left. This makes double majoring in 4 years very difficult. You can double check your instrument’s requirements in the Thornton course catalogue: </p>
<p>I’m just worried about SATs/ACTs…what if my score isn’t that great? If my audition outweighs the grades, will they let me in? I really wanna get into Thornton!
If I take the ACT will I also have to send in subject test scores?</p>
<p>I don’t know specifically about Thornton, but at most colleges a great audition can outweigh mediocre grades.</p>
<p>For music majors, it’s more about competition for slots than it is anything else. Like if the college desires 5 kazoo players, they are likely to accept 5 (or more - because not every accepted student attends) kazoo players who have at least decent academics and are also decent kazoo players. The first spots are obviously going to go to great kazoo players with great academics. If they can’t find 5 of those, then they may relax their standards a little and accept average kazoo players with great grades, or great kazzo players with average grades. If they still haven’t found 5, then they may possibly accept a few kazoo players with below average academics or performance ability (but not likely both). Of course if the college happens to have a competitive ping pong or tiddly wink team, and you happen to be a world champion at pingpong or tiddlywinks, (in addition to being a kazoo player), then they may offer you acceptace with the agreemen that you play on their pingpong or tiddlywink team.</p>
<p>And it also depends on your music degree specialty. Like if you want to be a performance major, I doubt that they would relax audition standards any but they may be willing to relax academic standards, If you want to be a music ed major, they may not relax academic standards much for a good audition, but they may relax the audition standards a bit.</p>
<p>So the (not so) straight answer is “it all depends”.</p>
<p>My son was offered acceptance and a large music scholarship at a school that has MUCH higher academic criteria than he has. I’m talking a 300 point sat and .6 grade point average differential between their AVERAGE student and his stats. But if the competition would have been a little tougher (like it likely will be at Thornton), then he probably would have been rejected.</p>
<p>Just concentrate on becoming a ping pong champion, in addition to being a great musician and having great grades and SAT score, and you will be ok.</p>
<p>Lifeofsolitude, the question of grades/STATS vs. audition (specifically at at Thornton) is already answered to the best of anyone’s ability in at least one of the threads I posted above (try the last one first, since it specifically mentions Thornton). </p>
<p>But, to beat a dead horse, it’s not so much a question of audition outweighing grades, but a situation where the BETTER the audition, the less grades/stats matter, AS LONG as you are “qualified” academically, and as long as there aren’t too many people with stronger auditions than yours AND higher grades/STATs.</p>
<p>My son had “good enough” grades/STATs, but kids with better academics this his are often denied admittance to USC. So we can only assume his audition played a huge factor.</p>
<p>Well…according to my teacher who is a professor there says that they can’t get you in based on a fabulous audition. The university has to approve and THEN you are admitted. You can have a fabulous audition but even Professor Midori cannot get you in. </p>
<p>I’m personally not worried about the audition, i’m just worried because of my poor grades. I must confess, I had a hard time during fresh/soph yr (special reasons) and I’ve had all A’s this past junior yr. I’m just worried that USC will look at my GPA and instantly reject me.</p>
<p>According to those in the know (sorry I can’t give more specifics, but I am quite confident in this), it is AFTER auditions (and scoring auditions) that Thornton departments and USC Admissions meet to make final decisions. But yes, USC Admissions staff must believe the applicant is “academically qualified” to succeed at USC in order for them to be admitted. So yes it’s true, even with a “fabulous audition,” you CAN be denied. But academic “minimums” can indeed also be slightly lower for qualified musicians, as many have said in previous threads.</p>
<p>Surely your teacher knows where your musicianship fits in the scope of Thornton. (My son knew from his own sources that he was musically “comfortably in the ballpark.”)</p>
<p>All you can do for now is focus on doing your best on the SAT, in classes, and practice, practice, practice. And try to have one or two other auditions before the USC one.</p>