<p>From USC website, I'm trying to find the link. D on the first few papers but not on the final grade. But once they finish the TO they go on to do great things, like in the following links, they went to Stanford Law and Yale Law schools.</p>
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Its a humbling trial by fire, a scalding immersion in the crucible of Western thought, wherein erstwhile high school valedictorians learn what its like to get D-minuses and worry about being the dumbest kid in class.
<p>You aren't always going to get a D on your first paper- I believe that I got a C on mine, but you will most likely be shocked by your grade on your first TO paper. These papers are to be written in a completely different way than any high school paper, and it can take a while to adapt. The nice thing is that your writing instructor wants you to do better, and will definitely reward improvement. As long as you put effort into your papers, you will eventually see good results. One of the nice things about TO is that there is absolutely no curve- teachers can give you the grade that they feel you deserve. For one of my TO classes, my teacher said that he felt that we all deserved A's for the level of work that we put in, so he gave us all A's. Note- that doesn't mean that you are guaranteed an A, just that if you work hard, and are learning from mistakes, you will be rewarded.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting that 2001 article, Columbia_Student. Much more informative than anything I'd read about TO before. </p>
<p>My S's high school (a very grade deflated private) requires a similar style of essay (involving a specified claim and close reading) and it is a radical departure from any of the essays I had to write in high school or college. Perhaps it might help if students were fully aware that they would have to throw their old ways of writing essays out the window.</p>
<p>Nikara, thanks for your views on TO. One of the former TO students talked about rewriting one paper 6 times until she earned an A. Are students allowed to rewrite low-graded papers for a better grade? If not, how can anyone ever raise a D to an A for the course?</p>
<p>Anyhow, the TO teachers and topics and community of top students look amazing (to this mom) and the workload and reading seem hyper-intense!</p>
<p>My guess is that professors are putting more weight on the final paper. You'll find most private schools are doing the same thing. For example, when we were touring Pomona, the guide there said Pomona rarely gives out Cs, but you know Pomona students go on to do better things in life. So I tend to think it's the end product and the effort you put in is what counts more toward your grade.</p>
<p>Writing instructors usually make it clear that you have to throw out your old ways of writing- mine wouldn't let us write an introduction or conclusion to our essays until the last one or two. Certainly broke us from the five paragraph essay format common in high school. Re-writing papers depends entirely on the teacher. Some will let you rewrite several times, while others won't. However, the weighting of each essay also depends on each teacher- they may give you a grade, but that doesn't mean that every grade will be equal. Usually, that is how you can raise a lower early grade- 10% for the first essay, 50% for the last. The real trick to TO classes is to do the reading and keep up with the work.</p>
<p>The Hooked on Classics article is great - thanks for posting! The TO folks told my son he could apply late (moved to Fall admission) on a sort of standby basis, dependent on how many kids don't follow through with signups at orientation. I really hope there's room for him, after reading this.</p>
<p>I am glad my son is not in TO. It sounds great for kids who are very humanities-classics types. My son likes math and computer science and will be much happier working on hands-on creative projects.</p>