<p>Today I looked in Amherst Orchestra’s roster and noticed that the two co-principals for my instrument were graduating this year…and I submitted a music supplement which showed that I have a very strong orchestral background in a very good youth orchestra conducted by an assistant conductor of the city’s orchestra…plus it had a pretty good recording of me playing an extremely technically demanding solo. </p>
<p>Is it possible that this will give me that much-needed boost? I know that Amherst isn’t as big into music as, say, Williams…so is this just some false hope? </p>
<p>(Otherwise, my stats are in range and I also have some prestigious journalism awards, but my weakness is my lack of AP classes before senior year because my high school forced us to take a bunch of introductory courses first…seeing the two graduating co-principal players boosted my hopes.)</p>
<p>Sure, I think it would help. If you click on that NPR link about Amherst admissions that’s been floating around this forum today, you’ll see a quote from the Dean of Admissions: “There are years that it’s great to be a runner and there are years that it’s great to be a lacrosse player, and there are years that it’s great to play the piccolo and there are years that it’s great to play the piano. But the candidate doesn’t know that.” </p>
<p>They’re always looking to fill needed spots. This might be your golden ticket.</p>
<p>We heard pretty much this same description when we attended an information session at Amherst. Oddly, it was the piccolo which was used as an example for us as well.</p>
<p>Gahhh. I hope that maybe this + my gold medal for writing from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards get me that boost… I was originally feeling kind of hopeless after a rejection from a less selective school, and now I have all this (hopefully real) hope</p>
<p>If you listen to the whole report, Amherst [at the time of the recording] had boiled down its candidates to a stack of applications for which they had exhausted all the meaningful criteria for evaluation. If you’re in THAT stack, only THEN does having some incidental virtue may tip a dead-even match in your favor.
If you’re NOT already in that stack, it doesn’t give you any “boost.”</p>
<p>I’m actually well aware that it at best would be a last-second tipping factor, and that not many spots are left after ED acceptees and athletes already have taken up spots, and that admission is very difficult. </p>
<p>But I am also qualified in other respects, with the scores I sent being at their 75th percentile, a unique/humorous essay, and a huge impact made as a leader within the premier high school paper in the nation. All I want now is just a little quality to tip things in my favor. And I know that it’s still not a guarantee of anything.</p>
<p>Hey, what’s wrong with a little justification from time to time? I think everyone here wants to believe that they’re going to be accepted, myself included. If you listen to the entire recording, they mention how they have already given the green light to too many candidates. At that point, they have to thin it down through basically picking names out of a hat. There is certainly a random component to it all, so none of us should take any rejection or waitlisting personally.</p>
<p>CHANCE ME FOR HYPSM I’LL CHANCE YOU BACK
OH NOES I GOT ONE B+ WILL THAT PREVENT ME FROM GETTING INTO HARVARD?
WILL BEING VP INSTEAD OF PRES OF NHS KEEP ME OUT OF HARVARD?</p>
<p>Yeah, nobody on this forum can really give me a behind-the-scenes answer. I’m aware. But as D-Day approaches, some anxiety is understandable.</p>