<p>Hi, I was recently accepted to USC (yay!) and I received an invitation to the Thematic Option Honors Program. While I'm very excited for the opportunity, I also have many concerns, and was wondering if any current student who is in the program can offer some insight. My main question is-will the workload be too much? The brochure mentions it's an "alternative" to the general education-does this mean TO classes can be substituted in for GE classes? Or do I still have to take GE classes on top of TO classes? </p>
<p>I only ask not because I'm someone who shys away from hard work, but because I'm worried that I won't be able to keep up with the workload. My GPA suffered my sophomore year because I didn't manage my time well with ECs and classes, and I think the only thing that saved me in my app to USC were my SAT scores, which is why when I enroll I don't want to repeat the same mistake of letting grades fall. Can any current students comment on how hard their workload is, and how they balance it with extracurriculars and a social life?</p>
<p>That being said, I'm someone who really loves reading and writing, and I would really hate to let pass the opportunity to take some stimulating and intellectual classes. Coincidentally, I looked up some TO classes, and one of the classes, which was about hidden monsters in society ie Lolita, was the EXACT class I mentioned in my essay that I wanted to take. D: Is this a sign? I feel really torn!! Any help would be appreciated, thanks.</p>
<p>Yes-it certainly is more work and pressure than any normal program. There is a considerable amount of extra reading and papers. However, if you come from a well prepared high school I think you wont have problems. It does somewhat limit your time to Rush/participate in other activities though but then again, everything has opportunity cost.</p>
<p>One of my biggest regrets at USC is not applying for/doing TO. If you went to a good high school, have your ‘marbles’ together, and know what you’re doing, do TO and you’ll be just fine, surrounded by similar-minded peers in small classes. Otherwise, you’ll just end up frustrated in a regular, massive size GE full of students of widely-varying caliber.</p>
<p>I’d think this would depend on your major and interests. D is a STEM major and GEs have been her “easy” class each semester to balance out a demanding STEM program. She had no interest in taking more writing/time intensive classes on top of that (not really interested in history/literature/etc.). Her GEs have been small classes (around 20-60) compared to STEM lecture type ones. Again, this can be a personality/interest thing— you seem to be interested in reading and writing and this could be a good fit.</p>
<p>I received an invitation to apply as well. Does everyone receive the invitation? And if accepted, does the program have any flexibility regarding the classes you take, or are they all dictated? Thanks</p>
<p>Hm, this has given me a lot to think about. Thanks for all the replies. I did visit another thread, and someone mentioned you can choose how many TO classes per semester ie 1/2 a class so the workload won’t be too much, so I’m going to go for it. </p>
<p>humanrightsgirl; From what I learned, not everybody gets an invitation in the mail, only students of a certain SAT/gpa level OR presidential/trustee scholarship kids. Apparently they only invite people with a CR + W score of over 1450 I believe? My gpa is pretty low (3.9 W) and I didn’t receive any scholarship but my CR+W score was 1550 so that makes sense.</p>
<p>But yes, can anybody shed light on which classes are determined for us? Thanks</p>
<p>All I can say is that Thematic Option is amazing and the students you will find yourself with will be amazing.</p>
<p>TO class lists are emailed to TO students before registration. There are always many to choose from and the themes will be varied and sometimes unexpected. You will email back your preferences and they will set aside space. That allows you to select a second choice without scrambling if your first choice is already full - there will be plenty of interesting options.</p>
<p>You will take four CORE courses, two associated writing seminars (with individual writing tutorials - again, amazing) and two theme courses chosen with your TO advisor (see page 6 of the handbook). My daughter was able to find theme courses that also counted as major requirements, giving extra space for a minor.</p>
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