Chances, please?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>Hello, I am entering my senior year in High School and USC is my top choice. I plan on applying for the Thornton School of Music (specifically the BS in Music Industry program). I know my academic statistics are low, but I really feel my extracurriculars will balance them out. For what it's worth, I'm a Caucasian female from Maryland.</p>

<p>School Type: Public, 1500+ students
GPA: UW roughly 3.27, W roughly 3.97 (I know these are low- we have not yet received our updated transcripts which include this past semester)
Rank: My school does not publicly rank, they only list the top 20 seniors at the end of the year. I'll be honest and say I'm quite positive that I am not in that top 20.</p>

<p>SAT: first take: 1760, 610 reading, 580 math, 590 writing.
second take: 1780, 630 reading, 560 math, 570 writing.
super scored: 1800 (I know this is also low)
ACT: I'm currently awaiting my score from the June (with writing) test, I believe I did MUCH better on this than I did on the ACT. I will come back and update this when I receive my score.</p>

<p>APs: as of my senior year I will have taken AP US Government, AP Modern World, AP Language and Composition, AP Literature and AP Music Theory.
Honors Classes: The only class that I have taken that was not an honors credit (when it was offered as such) has been Algebra 2 B (second semester) and Pre-Calculus A/B (full year). I know that math is not my strong suit.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
-11 years of Dance Classes, including teaching for 4
-4 years of community softball
-4 year participant of my High School Instrumental Band
-4 years of High School Marching Band (including senior year- hoping to be a Section Leader this coming fall)
-11 years of Girl Scouts, including receiving a Bronze and Silver Award
-4 year member of the International Thespian Society (including senior year)
-4 year member of my school's Drama Program;
Freshman Year: Sound/Lighting Tech, Assistant Stage Manager
Sophomore Year: Lighting Tech, Co-Dance Captain, Lighting Designer, Assistant Stage Manager
Junior Year: Lighting Designer, Stage Manager, Vice President of Club
Senior Year: Lighting Designer, Stage Manager, President of Club
-2 Time Superior Lighting Design Winner as determined by the Maryland State Theater Festival and the Maryland State Thespian Festival
-1 Time Outstanding Lighting Design Winner as determined by the North East Theater Festival (I plan on submitting another design at least 3 more times this coming season, as well as a stage management submission)
-In the spring of '12 I will stage managing a production of Alice in Wonderland to be a part of the Center Stage Project</p>

<p>Volunteering:
-Currently 99 hours of community service</p>

<p>Work Experience:
-I am currently looking to intern for a Live Nation managed building in DC</p>

<p>Academic Achievements:
-Instrumental Music Director's Award (junior year)
-Outstanding Achievement in German 1 Award (junior year)</p>

<p>Other:
-This July I will be attending Drexel University's Summer Music Industry Program, which can be viewed here: Music</a> Industry Summer Programs for High School Students: Undergraduate: Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design: Drexel University
-For the past 6 years I have attended the Exploration Summer Program, an academic based summer program where I have taken 3 week courses ranging in topics from Music Business, Mock Trial, Social Psychology, and several others. The program can be viewed here: [url=<a href="http://www.explo.org%5Dwww.explo.org%5B/url"&gt;http://www.explo.org]www.explo.org[/url&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/p>

<p>Other Schools I am looking at applying to (in order of preference):
-New York University
-Northeastern University
-Drexel University
-Emerson College
-Towson University</p>

<p>I know my academics are low, but I hope my achievements with my Drama Program will help to balance it out. I have essays already written and being revised by my past AP Lang teacher, and am confident that my Counselor, my Drama Director, and my Band Director will write positive letters of recommendation, as I have a very good relationship with each of them.</p>

<p>Thank you so much in advance to anyone who replies!
Jessica</p>

2

<p>Your extra-curriculars look great, but you’re right your academics are a little weak. You should take the SAT again and aim for a higher score if your ACT scores aren’t stellar cause that’d be a good way to offset your GPA. Goodluck!</p>

3

<p>AHH I WENT TO EXPLO TOO! only i went in 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th grade :slight_smile: I’m going to USC this year :slight_smile: CLASS OF 2015 woooo lol. your extra-curriculars are wonderful & combined with your summer programs, it shows you’re really passionate about your interests. definitely try to get your standardized test scores up. your GPA may be low but it doesn’t completely count you out, especially at USC bc they look at you holistically. i SUCK at math (got a D in precalculus junior year <em>shudders at the memory</em> lol). that shows that USC looks at way more than grades. </p>

<p>on your application, FOCUS ON YOUR STRENGTHS. play up how you have done everything possible to help you attain success in your future career field. i had a 3.5 W and probably around a 3.3 or 3.2 unweighted but my extracurriculars definitely helped. your essays are SUPER important. make sure you showcase your personality & passions, they love that. make it personal. let them know how much to love USC. sometimes that extra bit of passion & knowledge of the university and what it can do for you (& what you will do for it!) is the extra push you need to get in! i’m sure that’s what helped me!</p>

<p>sorry i know this is long lol but esp since you went to Explo too, i really want you to get in hahaa. focus on your academics, try to get straight As first semester of senior year & get your test scores up. if you find you do better on the ACT, focus on getting those scores really high (like above a 30 or 31) instead of spending too much time on the SAT.</p>

<p>if you have any other questions, feel free to PM me! good luck this year & i hope to see you on campus next year!</p>

4

<p>I was a music industry minor and my boyfriend (as well as a majority of our friends) were MUIN majors on the BS track.</p>

<p>Even though it may not sound like a truly “academic” major, the MUIN program is VERY competitive at USC and Thorton routinely accepts students with high scores to the program. I want to be honest and say you are at an extreme disadvantage with the academic portions of your application.</p>

<p>You have strong ECs, but I can also immediately say the weight your resume has in the drama department would be puzzling to MUIN admissions. You did sound design one year, but then moved to lighting and stage direction? I would assume that if you were interested in entering a BS program with a strong emphasis on recording, sound mixing and live sound production, you would have stuck with sound design in your drama program. </p>

<p>Being in band is good, but it’s not enough. The Drexel program shows your interest, but the lack of this interest influencing your primary EC will look odd. Most MUIN admits come in with experience in working at recording studios, recording bands for fun, being in a semi-pro touring experience, working at music venues or radio stations, doing music journalism, etc.</p>

<p>I know there is always the select group of students who are admitted with low scores, but you shouldn’t use that as an excuse to not try to beef up your application between now and December. As of now, I personally believe you would be rejected from Thornton; I only say this as someone with experience in USC’s MUIN program.</p>

<p>If you score 30+ on the ACT, send those only and leave out your SAT scores. If it falls below this, enroll in a prep course and raise the scores. Do well in your first semester of senior year and write stellar essays. Get someone to proof them for you. Make sure your recs are solid, maybe get a rec from a professor from the Drexel program.</p>

<p>You will definitely get into Emerson and Drexel. The Music Industry programs there are both good. I also suggest you lookm at the Music Industry program at LMU in Los Angeles as well, as it will put you in a position to work at large music companies, which Philly and Boston really can’t offer.</p>

5

<p>Thank you guys for your opinions (:</p>

<p>My ACT scores did come in and I’m happy to say I got a 30! I’m still waiting on the writing portion, however. I’m considering only putting my ACT score on my applications, and am definitely going to work hard to achieve straight A’s first semester to help raise my GPA. </p>

<p>USCGirl1: YAY EXPLO! I went from 6th-11th grade, from 2005-2010. If you’re only a year older than me and you went your 8th grade year, we must have been there at the same time! What a coincidence. It’s good to hear that someone else with low math grades got in, haha, definitely calmed my nerves about that. I’ll definitely try to play up my strengths in my essays and whatnot. Thank you very much (:</p>

<p>Zelda: I’m not sure if there is a way on the application to further explain my drama department involvement. I did sound for half of a year but in all honesty my only job was to press play on the computer to play the accompaniment CD. Would it be more logical to leave that out of my resume? I switched to lights because my father is a professional lighting designer and the program needed someone with that knowledge. I stuck with designing for the club because we simply needed someone too and I knew how to. My main passion is with the management. As a stage manager, I have more of a knowledge of the sound board and sound design than I did as a “sound tech.” With a father in the industry, I have plenty of experience with live music but was not sure where to fit that in on a resume. My father works with DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC and all my life I have been helping out and playing witness to the live military bands that perform there. With a 30 on the ACT, I will most likely take your advice and leave out my SAT scores on my applications. Thank you for your honest words and insight, I definitely appreciate it!</p>

6

<p>Play up whatever live music experience you have. Also, try this summer and get a position at a local public radio station as an intern or see if in the city you live there is a live music venue that will take you as an apprentice. In LA there are several all ages venues that let teenagers learn how to do and eventually run the live sound for shows, so I bet if you live near a major city, you can find something similar.</p>

<p>Also, maybe your friends are in a band or there are local bands you can work with to book them shows, etc. Or try booking a show of local bands at a venue with a few friends. </p>

<p>Good job on the ACT, though. It will definitely help. Let me know if you have any more questions – the MUIN program (and the music industry in general!) definitely needs more girls! I’d be happy to proof your essays when you’re ready, too.</p>

<p>PS: I talked to my boyfriend about his scores/essays/ECs when he applied to MUIN at USC. He was admitted to USC and Drexel, rejected from NYU. (Aren’t we all, though?)</p>

<p>He said he had a 2100 SAT and a 3.7ish GPA. He was in one touring band in high school and one local band – but he also ran a record label out of his house and turned his basement into a recording studio to make all the records he released. He also interned at a recording studio one summer and (I think?) also did the Drexel summer program.</p>