I understand you want to explain a 3.5, and I understand piano takes up a lot of time. However: I join others In cautioning you against using hours toward your passion as an excuse for (mildly) lower grades. A 3.5 in a rigorous courseload vs a 4.0 will only matter at couple dozen schools : the most hyper-competitive and highly rejective colleges in the country. The vast majority of colleges in the US will not view gpas under such a microscope. Furthermore, at those elite low-admission rate colleges, they will already be aware of how to read your application in context and it risks looking like you are making excuses. And: the kicker: there are tens of thousands of high schoolers with 20hrs or more per week on a performance art (or other activities) who also have 4.0s.
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