My son is a junior in a public school in southern California. He is passionate for both science and dance (music too if he had the time). Academically he has about 4.3 GPA (strong science/math), 99 percentile in SAT and PSAT (qualifying for NMS according to 2017 stats), and taking/passing many AP’s. In dance he’s got many scholarships including full ride to ballet summer programs. He is also very involved in helping the community with music, running a nonprofit org, providing funding for music therapy research as well as performing at senior homes. USC offers the best opportunities for double major in Kaufman dance and science. Dance is super competitive and he can’t get in if not choosing it as his 1st choice of major, but he is probably not the best among the dance major applicants. Can someone recommend which major he should apply in terms of opportunity for getting the Trustee scholarship? Thanks!
Good well rounded kid. For science, his test scores sound high, the rest of the stats/ECs are pretty usual, then you mentioned he isn’t top at dance so that can be a quandary. In terms of applying if he wants dance he should apply dance, and minor in science or vice versa (is there a Dance minor, idk). Is it less competitive for male ballet dancers? idk, maybe they all want to go to USC…
There are no majors that are better to get the Trustee in, those kids are differentiated per USC and have some kind of hook - be it passion, talent, certain discipline, combined with ethnicity, sometimes combined with need and several other things that can change - whatever it is USC is looking for that particular year. Some kids with stats and ECs like your son has aren’t even accepted, yet get the Trustees because of the holistic approach. So apply to get in, not for the Trustees. And if he hits the lottery great, but plan accordingly.
Thank you very much @blueskies2day for the reply. He wants to double major in dance and premed and need $ for the long road to med. I found that trustee scholarship is awarded somewhat based on how many students a school has from talking with a counselor. If he apply for dance as 1st choice he would be lucky to get in, let alone the couple of scholarships the school has. Would be great to know if someone in science (premed) got the scholarship and what qualifications they have. Thanks again!
It doesn’t sound like he wants to have a career in dance if he’s planning on going to med school. So, he should probably go with his primary major being something that isn’t as competitive as dance and doesn’t require multiple auditions. One of USC’s essay options is to talk about something else you want to study - he’d have a strong, killer response for that and that may help get him to a scholarship. If you really think he may not be among the best of the dance applicants, and since you live in SC, you might want to consider asking the school if he can go watch the final round of auditions for this year’s applicant pool because he is considering applying and wants to get a feel for the process, etc. They are holding auditions over 3 weekends in January & February. Then maybe he can get a better feel for how his skills would match up.
@HopingForUSC That’s a great idea, if they’ll allow him to watch. Thanks!