Current Thornton Students: Transferring to Thorton + Affording Tuition?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
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Hi, I’m a student that is currently attending a CSU. I am interested in transferring to USC’s Thornton School of Music, as it has been my dream school for years! My problem is that I lack music industry experience. Would this affect my chances of being accepted into the program?

Also, on the rare chance I would get accepted to Thornton, is the program really worth it? How are the teachers and courses? In addition to that, how would I even pay for it? I believe scholarships are not available for transfer students. My father is the only one employed in my family and makes around $50k annually, barely enough to keep my family of five afloat.

I so badly want to pursue a music industry degree, and Thornton is the best choice for me because I live in California, it’s right in the heart of the music industry, and I have heard from many that music industries hired them because they got a USC degree.

Is this just an impossible dream? I am trying to be realistic, but I think that means I have to give up on this because I can’t afford it. Plus, I don’t know if it’s worth going into so much debt since USC Thornton tuition is approximately $50k per year.

Normally I would compromise and go to a cheaper school but music industry programs are rare and not offered at most colleges.

Honestly, how does anyone afford USC? :confused:

tl;dr: Can I get into Thornton with no experience, what is it like, and how do I pay for it?

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I’m a transfer student and I got full tuition paid for by USC! It was not a “scholarship”, just a university grant based on my financial need. If the only income from your family is $50k, you have a very very high chance of getting tons of grant aid, so no, it’s not an impossible dream at all. If I were you, I would stop worrying about affording USC and instead focus on whether you can actually get in to Thornton.

Also keep in mind though that Thornton has many music minor programs (music, music recording, music industry, songwriting, etc). If you feel you don’t have enough experience to get into Thornton as a major, you could always apply to a Dornsife major and complete one (or even two) minors in Thornton to still gain access to the professors, resources, and networking! :slight_smile:

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@Flambeau, thank you for your response! Could I ask what your transcript looked like when you transferred to USC? I’m assuming high GPA, extracurriculars, and whatnot all factor into admission as well as experience.

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No problem, Sempiternus! One of the biggest myths out there is that transfer students won’t be able to get great financial aid from USC and I’m always happy to dispel that myth! :stuck_out_tongue:

I transferred from two schools, UCLA where I completed two quarters (~3.8 GPA) and then from a community college where I finished up my freshman year with a 4.0 GPA.

I had good EC’s but nothing over-the-top spectacular. It wasn’t like “I won this award for this and that award for that and this accolade from this well-renowned organization”, nothing like that. Though I do think my EC’s played a role in my admission because one of my essays was about my acting experience on an indie film and how the best part of that experience was getting to know and work with a diverse cast and crew, learning from all of our differences to collaborate and make the film a success. USC wants students who are team players and who will fit in with a very diverse and multicultural campus. So I think it’s more important how you portray your EC’s than what they actually are.

The essays -do- seem to be a big deal, and I’ll be honest (if not arrogant) and say that I nailed all of my essays, so that was probably another big factor in my admission.

One other factor was probably the major I applied to. I applied to Narrative Studies in Dornsife. And while -I- genuinely love all the classes Narrative Studies has to offer, it -is- a relatively obscure major and certainly nowhere near as competitive as applying to Thornton. Of course, if you apply to a major just because it’s obscure, that won’t do you any favors if your essays, EC’s, and coursework don’t match up with it. All of my EC’s (writing, acting, teaching film camp to kids, etc) and my coursework matched up perfectly with Narrative Studies, but if you have all music-related EC’s…

I mean, you -could- apply directly to Thornton if you truly believe you have a good chance of getting in, or if Music is the only major you’d want to pursue. But personally, I’d advise you to take a good look at the Dornsife majors and see if anything else fits for you because you will have a much better chance of getting into USC through Dornsife and then minoring in Music and joining music/Thornton EC’s (USC has many a cappella groups, chorus, choirs, and so on).

Do you have any other careers in mind besides music?

EDIT: For clarification, I am strongly considering pursuing a minor in Thornton, probably songwriting. Music has always been an interest of mine but for whatever reason, I never laser-focused on it until now, when I’m realizing how much I really love writing songs and singing, and how much I have to learn and how much better I want to become. I have zero real-world music experience (I literally write songs and I sing, but I have never been formally trained in either) but I’m planning to immerse myself while at USC, and if I end up deciding I want a career in music, I don’t feel like not majoring in it will hold me back at all. It’s about the skills you learn and the people you meet much more than the name of your degree. :slight_smile: