<p>In my USC acceptance packet for competitive scholarships (still in shock!), there is mention of the Thematic Options program. I went online and did some research on T-O, but I'm still a little confused. Does this program last through freshman year only? Is it for Dornsife students only? Does it entirely replace the general education core? Any insight would be so appreciated! :)</p>
<p>I’m sure there are more qualified people to answer this, since D didn’t do TO, but I do know that it replaces the GE core and has its own requirements. As it includes a certain number of courses (just like the GE core does), I’d assume it takes more than freshman year to finish for most people. </p>
<p>Here is a link to last years TO student handbook (loaded with TO information):
<a href=“USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences”>USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences;
<p>TO is hugely competitive. All students can apply for it, but the scholarship recipients get first look and first consideration. And even then, many recipients don’t get accepted to it.</p>
<p>My older son was in TO and he really loved it. camomof3 is right–it is an honors version of the GE requirements and those classes (don’t remember how many–about 8-12 depending on AP credit) may be taken whenever you wish, although most take them the first 2 years at USC. TO is open to all majors/Schools but is known to be a more rigorous/smaller class/more participatory version of GEs. The 200 or so freshmen who take TO at USC often feel like they get the intellectual challenge of a small LAC along with the breadth/resources of a large research U. My S thought it was the best of both worlds. If you have any other questions, just ask.</p>
<p>My daughter is in her second year at USC. However,next year is her last year(thanks AP credits) She did T.O. and said it was great.It was her best classes.That is all she told me.</p>
<p>Wow, it’s really only 200? That must be crazy competitive - there are 350 finalists for the Trustee Scholarship; obviously not all of those will attend USC or apply to TO but still. Sounds like a really cool program though!</p>
<p>How does it affect GPA compared to regular GE classes? I assume it is tougher academically?</p>
<p>I don’t think your scholarship status has any bearing on whether you get TO or not. Maybe if your are a Trustee, it could be automatic.</p>
<p>Right, I just meant that there are fewer TO people than Trustee finalists, which puts the super competitiveness in perspective.</p>
<p>Ahhh, I really want to do it! I’m used to the IB Diploma program, where we have small class discussions, especially in Theory of Knowledge. I’d love to continue that type of coursework at USC. Is the grading in TO much harder than other classes? Do kids generally get As/A-s or is that next to impossible?</p>
<p>missSilver–in the recent past, TO looked heavily at SAT scores for the CR and W sections (not math!) and successful candidates often had combined CR + W of 1500. Also, many in Engineering majors chose not to go into honors GEs. But it a great program for those who thrive in that setting.</p>
<p>Businessco-- The talk is (just passing this along) that the workload is greater (more books to read, more papers per semester, etc), the in class participation is also more active, and the grading is…actually better in TO than regular GEs. Since many of the TO students are already at the very top of the incoming class, this is not unexpected. But since there is no curve in TO, every student who earns an A (not a snap) does get an A. And a lot do.</p>
<p>“I just meant that there are fewer TO people than Trustee finalists”
Only about 50% of Trustee finalists actually end up enrolling at USC, so the TO program is not comprised only of Trustee Scholars. They are, however, offered the TO option first, as TO classes are far more rigorous than the normal GE classes. And the highly experienced, senior Profs who are chosen to teach the TO classes want the most capable students possible.</p>
<p>Oh, that few? That makes sense I guess.</p>
<p>Good to hear they don’t look at math haha! My CR + M is a 1550 so hopefully that would put me in a good place for TO!</p>