Chantilly High senior Julie Dwyer, 18, was recently awarded the University of Southern California Trustee Full Tuition Merit Scholarship worth $112,000.
This spring, the Chantilly Highlands resident was accepted to the USC Thornton School of Music after auditioning on campus, and was also admitted to the USC Academic Honors Program. She was then notified that she was a finalist to compete for the USC Trustee Full Tuition Scholarship of $28,000 a year. The minimum eligibility requirements for selection are a 4.0 GPA, College Board exam scores in the 99th percentile and outstanding talent, achievement and leadership. The finalists were chosen from a variety of departments and international backgrounds. To be further considered for this full tuition scholarship, Julie was required to travel to California to participate in the USC Scholarship Candidate Program to be interviewed by panels of USC faculty and administration who would then select those to be awarded the full tuition scholarship.
Julie was also admitted and awarded scholarships at each of the other colleges to which she applied and auditioned. She was admitted by audition to Carnegie Mellon's School of Music in Pittsburgh, PA, where was she awarded a Carnegie Mellon University scholarship. In addition, she was admitted from 45,000 applicants to the University of California, Los Angeles and was awarded the UCLA Honors Program Scholarship. She was also admitted to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia where she was awarded its top merit scholarship, the Presidential Scholarship.
In addition to her outstanding academic record, Julie has also earned many exceptional opportunities in music. As a rising senior, Julie was selected by audition for the Johns Hopkins' Peabody Conservatory of Music, Arts for Talented Youth College Preparatory Program. This program provides a few select students the opportunity to take classes at the Peabody Conservatory. As a rising junior in the summer of 2002, Julie was accepted by audition to the prestigious Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Summer Program for College Students and was only one of two high school students admitted to this college level program, conducted by renowned faculty of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
Last year as a junior, Julie was selected to be District Soprano Soloist for the District XII Choir Festival from 40 auditioned Soprano District XII Choir members. A month later, she was selected by audition to be in the All-Virginia State Choir. She was then selected from the other State Choir members by audition to the All-Virginia State Soprano Soloist to sing the solo in that festival.
The previous year, as a sophomore, Julie won first place and a music scholarship in the Regional Bland Vocal Classical Music Competition, competing against seven high school seniors who were local competition winners from Virginia and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Julie earned the opportunity to compete at this Regional Bland Vocal Competition by first winning at the local level. At the competition, she performed an aria in Italian from Mozart's opera, "Don Giovanni." Julie was also selected by audition that year for the Capital City Opera ensemble of "Hansel and Gretel." In addition, she was selected to perform as a singer-dancer in the Cappies Washington Post Awards Gala at The Kennedy Center.
As both a rising freshman and sophomore, Julie was selected by audition as the youngest student for the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music Summer Program taught by Oberlin Conservatory professors. At this program, she performed eight classical art songs in four different languages in recitals and master classes. The summer of 2000, she was selected by audition to attend the North Carolina School for the Arts Music Program and also attended the Eastman School of Music, Computer Music Technology Program in Rochester, NY.
At Chantilly High School, Julie has a 4.1 GPA and has earned the AP Scholars Award, the Social Studies Departmental Award, and the Academic Letter Award for 3.8+ GPA each year. She is a member of National Honor Society and the French Honor Society. As a junior, the Choral Department awarded her the esteemed Frank Sinatra Outstanding Vocalist Award. She has been a member of Chantilly High School's Touch of Class Show Choir as a freshman, sophomore, and junior. Julie also takes private voice instruction, piano lessons, and dance classes. She plans to attend USC to double-major in Vocal Performance and Music Business and minor in Cinema-Television. She hopes to perform professionally.
Julie is the daughter of Kevin and Jeanie Dwyer, and has two brothers, Matthew 21, and Colin 14.