<p>Agree with alea. Your son has a very competitive academic profile with a focused passion in MUSIC…</p>
<p>…now, it will be up to your son to create an application that is centered around music/wind instrument and all the activities associated with it and supported by his badminton and research…</p>
<p>…if he can start working on the 3 main essays (1 being a letter to future roommate) to bring out his genuine voice and character to MOVE the admissions officer(s) to want to “admit” him…all the better. Do not procrastinate…the essay must be in his genuine voice…not the teacher’s, not the parent’s, and definitely not the generic one used by all the counselors… </p>
<p>…at this stage of the game, it is all up to the INTANGIBLES…the strength of his ESSAYS, the RECOMMENDATIONS, his live audition, and sometimes plain old luck…</p>
<p>…applying REA may definitely give him an edge…since one never knows how many many more TOP musicians in his “instrument” and all the other instruments will be applying in the regular round…</p>
<p>Hope this helps. Best wishes!</p>