Chance me for Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Northwestern....

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, I'm a current senior who is interested in attending the following college programs for music:</p>

<p>Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Stanford
Tufts
Columbia</p>

<p>The following joint programs (Musicology at Univ/Performance at Conservatory)</p>

<p>Tufts/NEC
Harvard/NEC
Columbia/Juilliard
Cleveland Institute of Music/Case Western Reserve University</p>

<p>The following dual-degree programs (Music Performance and Psychology)</p>

<p>Northwestern University
University of Michigan
Johns Hopkins/Peabody Conservatory</p>

<p>I am an Asian Male residing in Pearland, TX. </p>

<p>Here is my academic record:</p>

<p>SAT II Math I: 780
SAT II U.S. History: 780
SAT I Mathematics: 780
SAT I Reading: 800
SAT I Writing: 790</p>

<p>GPA on Transcript (Weighted): 4.4625</p>

<p>Classes I took in Junior year:</p>

<p>Pre-AP Physics (Sem. 1: A+, Sem. 2: A)
AP Calculus (A-, A-)
AP English III (A+, A+)
Pre-AP Spanish III (A, A-)
AP U.S. History (B+, A)
AP Music Theory (A+, A+)</p>

<p>Classes I am currently enrolled in:</p>

<p>AP Physics
AP Government/Economics
AP English Literature IV
AP Spanish IV
Modern Music and Composition
Principles of Information Technology (AP Computer Science not offered at my high school)</p>

<p>AP Test Scores:</p>

<p>AP Music Theory: 5
AP Music Theory Aural Subscore: 5
AP World History: 4
AP English III: 5
AP US History: 5</p>

<p>Extracurricular Record:</p>

<p>Studied composition for two years (as a 13 and 14 year old amongst graduate and post-grad students) at Ecole Normale de Musique with Dr. Phillip Lasser of Juilliard and Dr. Narcis Bonet.
Diploma of Harmony from Ecole Normale de Musique
Member of ASCAP performer's association
3rd place nationally in the MTNA Composition Competition</p>

<p>Studied piano performance for 10 years</p>

<p>1st place winner of Baylor/Waco piano competition
1st place winner of San Marcus piano competition
1st place winner of The Slavic Music competition of the Moniuszko Foundation
1st place winner of Schmitbauer International Piano Competition
3rd place winner of Julia Crane International Piano Competition
2nd place winner of The Seattle International Piano Competition
1st place winner of American Protege Competition
Houston Young Artist alumni (2005,2007,2009)
Aspen Music Festival and School alumni (2012)</p>

<p>Solo recital at Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, New York
Solo recital at Clayton Opera House, New York
Solo recital at Polish Cultural Center, Lithuania
Premiere of compositions at Cortot Hall, Paris
Live performance for KUHF Radio 88.7
Masterclasses with Stephen Kovacevich, Stephen Hough, Seymour Lipkin, Lydia Artymiw, Christopher Theofanidis
Tutored juniors and seniors for the SAT exam for two years.
National Honor Society
National Merit Semifinalist (Probable finalist)
Currently a neighborhood piano teacher</p>

<p>I am very avid about studying music, so I was curious whether this sort of extracurricular record would help my admission to these Ivy League colleges for whom I have already declared my intended major for. I have a few concerns about my academic record, however: in every single year of high school I have taken the highest offered courses (and was a year early in mathematics) but I have recieved one B in one semester in one course of each year. In addition, I am almost positive that I will only be able to manage a B in AP Spanish IV this year.</p>

2

<p>You are extremely Competitve, however, most are reaches for everyone.
Tufts
UMI
NW
are all likely admits</p>

3

<p>oh and for most of those colleges you need 3 SAT IIs, and you only listed 2.</p>

4

<p>Kyp - please check your info on SAT II, I don’t think your advice about needing 3 is correct at “most of those colleges.”</p>

5

<p>@kypdurron
No colleges require 3 subject tests, so 2 should be fine for those that do need SAT IIs. </p>

<p>@Pfhorrest
But do not under any circumstances send a Math Level I subject test to ANY school, let alone HYPS or other competitive universities. If you want to send a math subject test, you need to take math II.</p>

6

<p>two subject tests are fine but three never hurt</p>

7

<p>Overkill, overkill, overkill. That should be the motto of CC. A better use of time and energy would be (a) understand the “hurdle” (the GPA, rigor, and scores) which you need to get to be a viable applicant and (b) once you get those scores, STOP.</p>

<p>Very early in your HS career, decide what ECs start your motor, get very involved in those, and “own” those ECs (either through leadership and/or commitment).</p>

<p>Think about the essays and take the time to write essays which make you proud.</p>

<p>Chose the writers of your rec letters well (make sure these writers really know you - beyond that you are a great student.)</p>

<p>That is the formula to best position yourself for the final run.</p>

<p>Constantly taking tests may make you feel better (because it gives you a feeling of controlling a part of the process), but your time is better spent on the “other stuff” - the holistic stuff - that these top colleges seem to weigh once you have cleared the academic and test hurdles.</p>

<p>JMHO</p>

8

<p>You come off as the stereotypical Asian overachiever. The app says it all. Strong in music, high scores on the SATs, strong transcript, but I really don’t feel a soul is in this applicant. Honestly, I know its judgmental as hell, but college admissions is also extremely judgmental. Even your college choices come off as stereotypical. HYPS. You are just missing an M. </p>

<p>You are set on academics. Don’t get me wrong. And your passion for music is UNPARALLELED. But I feel like if you screw up on the essay, you lose out admissions. You need to make sure you come off as a person, not as a robot. I know I sound like a jerk, but that is what I have to offer. You will most likely be accepted to at least on of those colleges, and most likely all non-HYPS. Hell, HYPS is in your reach. But a bad essay can easily merit a rejection. </p>

<p>(BTW, I am Asian).</p>

9

<p>Friendly bump</p>

10