We are hoping to visit USC on spring break and I was wondering if anyone can offer any tips/suggestions on how to make the most of the trip? DD already emailed a professor at the department she is interested in to see if he has office hours that week or can recommend someone else DD can talk to about specific major and all related things, such as ability to do double-major, masters and a semester abroad in four years. No response after a week, but there may be tons of reasons for that. More importantly, DD would like to talk to someone about classes she can take while in HS to meet as many requirements as possible. She has been to USC website, knows which AP’s are accepted and where to find articulation agreements with cc’s, but there are little details that may need a live person reply. For example, for her to maximize her total 16 units allowed as a freshman, she would like to take Art History AP. However, her school doesn’t offer Art History. Could she take art history at city college to learn the subject and then self-study for the AP? I mean, would USC accept her AP credit instead of DE credit since she has already allocated all allowable DE credits between other DE classes? I don’t expect anyone to answer these AP-related questions above, but rather refer me to the exact person at USC who would be making these kinds of decisions, and who we can contact to schedule a meeting if possible.
And of course any other tips/suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance!
They are currently processing over 65,000 applications for admission decisions which are a week away. With the volume of inquiries and interest in a school this size, they have very formal processes to answer questions. The questions you are asking are very general in nature and are not appropriate questions for a professor to spend their time on. Office hours are for current students. There is a chance for departmental meetings with professors down the road, but again, that is through a formal process. Is she working with her high school guidance counselor? They should know the answers to several of your questions. Did you sign up for a tour over spring break? That is the best place to start getting your questions answered then let them direct you from there. There are a lot of questions that you have that can be answered online, particularly regarding AP credit, double majors and study abroad. But yes, you can take any AP test and get credit with or without having taken the specific class. Many people double major at USC, it is very common, as is study abroad. If I can offer a suggestion with the best intentions, just breathe. You seem to have the cart before the horse from a lot of your questions. You have time to work through this.
@CADREAMIN, thanks for replying. I know the questions I posted are general, but the ones my daughter has are a bit specific, and we haven’t found the answers online. Re AP credits, for example, an acquaintance claimed her nephew took an AP test after a cc course, and his college (not USC) refused to accept AP credit because of class taken, and only offered credit for the dual enrollment. If this happens at USC, it would mean fewer DE classes would be transferred. Won’t be an end of the world, of course, but it could really help me (the mom). For example, we live near 3 community colleges. One is close enough D can take a bus to, the other two are half an hour away by car, two hours each way by buses. D saw that Astronomy at the further cc gets credit at USC, and at the nearer one it does not, so she chose to take the class at the further college. I don’t regret spending two hours a day driving her, but because of that my younger son couldn’t attend the summer camp he wanted. Again, not complaining a bit, just saying planning ahead really helps. And yes, D e-mailed USC AO assigned to her school, but doesn’t expect an answer from him before our trip because she understands how busy the AO must be at present.
We did sign up for a tour and yes, we’ll go from there, I was just checking if there was possibly anything else we should be doing during the visit. Thanks for answering!