<p>Jazz mom – Is your S going to be auditioning for Thornton? If so, like other students who enter arts majors by audition/portfolio/work samples, he’s in a slightly different situation than students who apply based primarily on the typical LAC/university criteria. As I understand it, if a music program selects him based upon his audition and other info relevant to his musical abilities, his grades and scores will have to be within an acceptable range for USC, but the music will be the primary factor. Hence pluses and minuses (unless he is very borderline academically – and it certainly doesn’t sound as if that’s the case) should not be so relevant. </p>
<p>Also, my sense is that USC is very aware that all high school courses and grades are not equivalent. We were told explicitly that they consider transcripts in the context of the school. And especially if several students from your S’s high school apply to USC each year, the admissions rep assigned to your region knows the high school. Your hs will provide USC (and all other colleges) with a written explanation of its courses, grading system, etc. Hopefully, this material will be detailed enough to explain how many A’s, A-'s, B +'s etc are given in each class overall. If this written description doesn’t make it crystal clear that there are no AP’s to be had, the GC can phone the USC admissions rep assigned to the school and tell him during the same call that supports your s’s application. </p>
<p>Finally, with the lack of formal ranking, if your s’s high school is one where way more than the top 10% of the students attend top universities, not providing colleges with the students’ ranking allows universities to accept many of those kids without cringing at the notion that now they have to reveal that a bunch of their incoming freshmen weren’t in the top 10% of their hs class. If it’s pretty clear to you that your S is in the top 10% or one of the very top few kids, you can always feel out your GC to see if she is willing to somehow telegraph this fact to colleges in her evaluation letter.</p>
<p>Thanks, Nester. Yes, my son is auditioning for Thornton, and I have heard that it is different for music students. But I thought it would be nice to know the academic standards as well. I don’t know that he’d be quite strong enough as a general applicant, but he’s a top notch musician, and the Thornton faculty is already aware of him from the past two summers he has spent with them. So that’s good. Fingers crossed that his grades and test scores are good enough. I’m just curious what good enough is. We know students at Thornton with lower stats than my S’s, so I’m hopeful.</p>
<p>It sounds as if your s’s stats are such that they wouldn’t guarantee admission to USC, but wouldn’t cause his GC to snicker if he told her he was applying as an undeclared major either. The thing is, if your s is coming from an excellent private hs with a tough grading system, looking at the average GPA of accepted USC students might be misleading. Does the hs keep good records of its students’ application and acceptance histories? Can you take a look at a chart that will show you how many students from your hs with GPA’s in your son’s range (correcting for whatever boost AP’s might have given students at your hs in past years) applied to USC last year and how many were accepted? If his grades are within a range from which USC accepted a decent percentage of the applicants last year, or over the past few years, I don’t think you have to worry that his numbers will keep him out in the face of a solid audition.</p>
ALEX! I don’t wanna see “only” and “2200” in the same sentence from you again! Agree with Eiffel - submit both. And apply before Dec 1. I looked at your chance thread. Apply before Dec. 1.</p>
<p>jazz–I was up for the challenge and called back. Spoke with “Suzie” who said USC does count plusses and minuses. So you did get the straight scoop. Sorry to confuse the issue. </p>
<p>I agree with Nester in thinking your S’s chances at Thornton will not be adversely affected by GPA. Talent is very important to USC and each of the creative majors/Schools make selections with that in mind, while the general admissions office must assure that each admitted student will thrive in USC’s academic environment. </p>
<p>A good audition, therefore, is the first step, but solid (yet not necessarily tippy top) stats will seal the deal.</p>
<p>jazz/shredder mom - My S is a freshman in Thornton. I can give you a summary of what the Dean of Thornton told a group at the auditions last January. A young man indicated he had been focusing on his music to the detriment of his grades and wondered if that could keep him from being accepted. Dean Cutietta said “It happens all the time”. Thornton faculty choose to audition you based on your music application without looking at your grades. They then take the list of the people they want to accept to the admissions office and start at the top of their list based on the audition and any other basis they have to assess the applicants. The #1 musician will be lobbied for hard, like a quarterback with borderline grades I assume, although I don’t know if Thornton gets as much lattitude on grades as they might give the football coaches If you are the bottom of their list of musically accepted students and have great grades, you are in, but if your grades are borderline, probably not. So, it is tough to get a good read without knowing how well the audition goes or the perception the faculty has based on the prior exposure to your S. Sounds like your S is a pretty good student at a pretty good school, so I suspect if he is what they are looking for musically he would likely get in. I suspect it will come down to their desire to have him based on his musicianship.</p>
<p>Haha thanks.
But it was a hypothetical situation. I’m retaking the ACT and I was wondering what I was going to do if I got a higher score than my SAT.</p>
<p>We can’t see the online application unless applying so only those actually filling out app can help you. You might want to make a separate thread to ask this since those doing app now may not look here.</p>
<p>Just an FYI. My S submitted a Part 1 application a week or so after they came out, so he has a USD ID and is on their radar screen. I swear it was only last week that they sent an email for the “not required” interviews, which we want him to do, since we live in the area. Well, we tried the on line form and it showed no dates for the school of his intended major (physics.) H called this morning and found out they were booked already, but that S could get an interview with a general admissions officer in early December, on campus. He discovered that only about 25% or so of the applicants interview, so I guess there are only so many slots … I wonder how many there are on more restricted dates in other cities.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m not sure about the interview. They say it doesn’t make any considerable difference in admission, and I’m pretty sure I can’t interview with my major anyway (Screenwriting) though they haven’t gotten back to me. I could interview with general admissions but I would rather not worry about it if it won’t make any difference. :-/</p>
<p>Does your prospective major also affect your admission chances?
I’m worried that applying to Computer Science may decrease my admission chances, so I’m contemplating applying as undeclared.</p>
<p>Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I am confused. I just submitted Part 2 about 2 weeks ago. I haven’t received anything in the mail yet; all I have received is an email confirming my submission. So what next? What do I need to do to completely finish my application process? The score report, the transcript sheet, and the recommendation? Is that it?</p>
If you are the bottom of their list of musically accepted students and have great grades, you are in, but if your grades are borderline, probably not. So, it is tough to get a good read without knowing how well the audition goes or the perception the faculty has based on the prior exposure to your S. Sounds like your S is a pretty good student at a pretty good school, so I suspect if he is what they are looking for musically he would likely get in. I suspect it will come down to their desire to have him based on his musicianship.</p>