<p>I just got a letter in the mail inviting me to apply to the USC Thematic Option... Does everyone who got into Dornsife get this, or should I feel a little bit special about it? Just curious! Thanks!</p>
<p>Feel special! Only select students get invited. You probably had a high SAT score.</p>
<p>Thanks! Do you know how many are asked to apply? Just trying to meter my chances…</p>
<p>(By the way, ignore the apostrophe in “Honors” in the title… typo)</p>
<p>If you search past threads about the topic you can see that generally all scholarship recipients are invited to apply as well as those admitted students with a combined CR + W of 1400 and up (or equivalent) though I’m sure there are some exceptions.</p>
<p>I think in general, if you really are committed to the workload and enjoy reading and writing, you have a shot. I’m applying as well, best of luck!</p>
<p>It’s special. But anyone can apply, whether you get the invitation or not. Here’s the application: [TO</a> Application > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences](<a href=“http://dornsife.usc.edu/cf/thematic-option/to-application.cfm]TO”>http://dornsife.usc.edu/cf/thematic-option/to-application.cfm)</p>
<p>I think the combined SAT for invitations is a little higher, Collegechica–maybe closer to 1450 combined CR + W (note, they do not look at Math scores since this is a reading/writing intensive honors program). </p>
<p>SeanPM, and any others who get this TO invitation letter, would you mind sharing your combined CR+W here so we can take an informal survey?</p>
<p>According to a past year’s thread the minimum was about a 1400. Mine is a 1500, and I’m not a scholarship recipient or anything. I’m truly awful at math so it’s really cool to have my strong points recognized when it comes to the SATs. Writing and reading are my strongest points (if I go to USC I’ll be majoring at Annenberg) and I’m no stranger to an intense workload so I hope I have a shot at this!</p>
<p>yeah I had a 1520 M+W so it makes sense! I saw that anyone could apply… but my guess is that those who weren’t invited, if they did apply, probably wouldn’t have nearly as good of a chance (as the qualifying SAT/GPA of the admitted student would be identifiable on the application) . So ultimately it’s pretty special! Thanks guys!</p>
<p>Sean, is that 1520 CR + W? </p>
<p>My older son and many of his friends chose TO and they have all been extremely happy there. One was not invited to apply, but knew it was for her. She applied, was admitted, and did great! Loved it. She’s a senior this year and was just admitted into an extremely competitive grad school with full funding!</p>
<p>The courses TO offers each semester are really unique and have amazing reading lists. The professors are among the very best in all of USC. But there are also wonderful GE courses for those who are non-TO. My younger son (freshman) has enjoyed two GEs so far and the material seems less strenuous, allowing him more time to take extra units each semester, do a lot of EC work, and concentrate on his double major.</p>
<p>my daughter had a CR 790 and W 790. It’s a lot of writing papers.If you don’t like writing papers you may not like it. She is happy so far and you get to go on field trips…like in HS together :)</p>
<p>Don’t think my S had any field trips, but each course may be configured differently! In terms of humanities focused students, the subset (about 200 each year) that enter TO get the same small LAC type class setting among equally impressive peers. But there are a lot of in-depth analytical papers.</p>
<p>S was invited last year, applied rather hastily on the deadline date, and was denied. Happy this year though, as he has found that his GE’s are a lot less work than his friends TO classes. Maybe not as stimulating as TO classes, sure, but still interesting enough and with excellent professors. With a heavy pre-med loaded schedule, he has found the silver lining in getting rejected from TO :)</p>
<p>good point, sportsmomma. My S2 loves his GE (non-TO) classes this year, too.</p>
<p>Do you know if only Dornsife students are invited to TO? I was admitted to Viterbi and I want to do TO, but I haven’t received an invitation. Should I apply anyway?</p>
<p>I was admitted to Annenberg and received an invitation; it states that they are looking for students from all majors. I live on the West Coast and only just received my invitation today, so yours may still be in the mail. If you weren’t invited but feel as though you would be a good fit for the program, apply anyway. You never know. People have done this in the past and been admitted.</p>
<p>My D was enrolled in TO as an engineering major. She loves humanities. She was one of the few Viterbi students in TO. Most TO students complete their TO classes in the first two years at USC. She had to spread out the TO classes since she had so many Viterbi requirements.</p>
<p>I received an invitation to TO, but after looking at the SAT scores, I don’t think I qualify. my SAT score was a 2090. My combined reading and writing score is 1360. I keep hearing it should be about 1400. On the other hand, my Reading ACT score was a 36 and my English ACT score was a 35. Does this mean I meet the requirements or not?</p>
<p>^If you have been invited, you have been invited. Apply and see if you make the cut.</p>
<p>Is the deadline for application today or the 11th?</p>
<p>For anyone really interested in TO, why not apply? It’s a pretty self-selecting group of students. It’s an honors program, but there are no grade bump perks so people pretty much go into for the education aspects alone. We know students who were not merit scholars and they were admitted and thrived. One more point, TO is very generous with A’s to students that do put in the time and effort. They know you are among the most motivated scholars at USC and reward the thoughtful work you do.</p>
<p>I was wondering about the deadline as well. The letter says the 11th, but the website says the 4th (yikes!) There’s a rather large chunk of writing involved in applying, which I haven’t had the chance to get around to (only received my application two days ago) so I’m going to assume the deadline is the 11th.</p>