Accepted
Bienen School of Music
Saxophone Performance and Music Ed
Objective:
SAT I: 1450 Comp, 6-5-6 Essay, 720 Reading/Writing, 730 Math
ACT: 32 Comp, 9 Essay, 35 English, 29 Math, 32 Reading, 30 Science
SAT II: Math 2-740, Lit-620 (I know this one wasn’t great, still chose to submit)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.99
Rank: 18/420
AP: Human Geo (3), APUSH (4), Bio (4), Music Theory (4), Language and Composition (5), Calc AB (5), Phys 1, Phys C: Mech, Gov, Calc BC, Stats, Gov, Macro (self study)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, AP Gov, AP Stats, AP Calc BC, English 12, Economics, Symphonic Band
Major Awards: Academics varsity letters, National Merit Commendations, not too much in the realm of academic awards
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Marching Band (Section Leader and Student Director)
Theatrical Technical Crew (Master Carpenter and Light Board Operator. Basically I help the newbies learn to use power tools safely and effectively to execute set designs)
Various music groups in school
All State Symphonic Band (1 of 7 Alto Saxes in state)
All State Jazz Band (Only Bari Sax in state)
All National Concert Band (1 of 8 Alto Saxes in COUNTRY)
Various other honor bands in Minnesota
Job/Work Experience:
Pastamore- Booth at farmer’s market that sells pasta and balsamic vinegar. Lots of person to person interaction.
A Kopp Music- Private lesson studio started by my former sax teacher. I taught lessons to beginners as well as did general grunt work and customer service type stuff.
Volunteer/Community service: Various volunteering through my synagogue and other Jewish charity organizations
Why NU: Really strong, one of my best pieces of writing to date. Really painted a good picture of my career goals and how NU will help me get there. Talked about my passion for music and studying with the classical sax prof at NU.
Common App: Again, talked about music in here and how its taught me a lot about life and commitment. Also emphasized how big an aspect of my life it is.
Teacher Recommendations:
AP Calc teacher really liked me, but I found out after the fact he usually uses a general letter, so he could’ve given me a pretty basic letter 7/10.
AP Comp teacher and I worked really well together. I grew a lot as a writer in her class and did a lot of extra work outside of class. Also worked with her in theater so she knows how I am as a leader outside of classroom 9/10.
Band director probably wrote me the best rec he could, and might’ve been more influential than any others. He has told me before I may be the best musician to ever come through my high school, and I’ve held a lot of leadership positions in music groups throughout high school 10/10.
Counselor Rec: Knew me decently well. Use to be our school’s college counselor so he really knows what he’s doing in terms of letters of rec and especially those going to prestigious schools. He also told me he was going to make it as personalized as possible despite the fact he didn’t know me super well. 7.5/10
Other
State (if domestic applicant): Minnesota
School Type: Public, noncompetitive
Ethnicity: While
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: High, prefer not to specify
Why accepted?
While my academics are pretty strong, they’re definitely not NU strong. If I was applying for Engineering or something I think I would’ve been rejected. The deciding factor for me was my music audition and interview, during which the faculty all said they really liked me and I was in the running. During my sax audition, I told the prof NU was my top choice and that I really liked all the saxophone students I had met and that we got along really well. I think these students also relayed that info to him, which worked in my favor. I also got a one hour private lesson with the prof during which we both got a feel for how we worked together, and it was a great match. Music ed faculty really liked me, and said they could tell I was hardworking and passionate. My academics also helped distinguish myself from other music applicants with similar skills but lower stats, which I think pushed me over the edge. I’m so happy I was accepted, and hope I can attend in the fall! Go Wildcats!
Other Schools:
University of Minnesota Twin Cities- Accepted for Sax Performance and Music Ed
St. Olaf College- Accepted for Sax Performance and Music Ed
Eastman School of Music- Accepted for Sax Performance
University of Michigan Ann Arbor- REJECTED for Sax Performance and Music Ed, Deferred EA for general admission