Chance a concert pianist for Ivies?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm a High School Junior gearing up for college admissions. I am really passionate and very dedicated to my piano studies along with my school work. I was wondering if anyone who has been accepted to the Ivies had any advice for what I could do to make me stand out as an applicant and could evaluate the chance of me getting accepted into top colleges. </p>

<p>Grades:
-4.0 unweighted GPA
-2/350: Class rank. </p>

<p>-Classes:
-Freshman year: School did not offer any honors or AP classes to freshman.
-Sophomore year: AP US History, AP Music Theory, Pre-Calc, Spanish 3, Chemistry, and English
-Junior year: AP Economics (Micro and Macro), AP Calculus AB, AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP Chemistry, and English.
-What I hope to take Senior year: AP Calc BC (you have to take AB and then BC at my high school), AP Physics, AP Biology, AP English, and AP Spanish.
*My school offers 6 class periods and for my freshman and junior years I received credit for my piano studies so that I may have an early release. </p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
-Concert pianist: I've played piano for 13 years, with the professional symphony in my state as a soloist, in 3k-4k seat concert halls in several states in sold-out concerts, studied at international music festivals across the country with concert artists and teachers from conservatories, am in lots of piano ensembles, work as an accompanist and neighborhood piano teacher, am a featured pianist for a local non-profit organization's annual benefit concerts, have won competitions and participated in lots of festivals and masterclasses with teachers from conservatories, frequently volunteer to play at senior centers in my area, and have been featured on the classical radio station and state newspaper, etc. Most of my time and energy is spent on practicing and performing when I am not studying for school. I've spent as many as 2 to even 10 hours a day practicing. </p>

<p>-Varsity tennis player: I was the number two singles player on my varsity tennis team my freshman year and have played for nine years but couldn't play my sophomore year because of piano commitments. I am hoping to play this year. </p>

<p>-Doctor Shadowing Program: I was accepted into a shadowing program at a local hospital this year and will receive a certificate after 40 hours of shadowing.</p>

<p>-School Clubs: Model UN, Key Club, National Honor Society, Math Honor Society, Music Honor Society, World Language Honor Society, and Government/Politics club. </p>

<p>-Church: I participate and perform frequently at my church. </p>

<p>Tests:
-I haven't taken the SAT or the SAT II tests yet
-I got a 198 on the PSAT but hope to do lots better.
-AP US History: 5
-AP Music Theory: 5</p>

<p>Other:
-Adopted from China.
-Low income. </p>

<p>Any and all comments would really be appreciated!</p>

2

<p>You have reallyyyy good chances for ivies,</p>

3

<p>Thanks! I appreciate it!</p>

4

<p>I was about to say yes! you have great chances, until I saw that you’re Asian. Unfortunately, affirmative action works AGAINST Asians. Since they tend to be the best qualified applicants, it is 1000x more competitive for Asians to get into Ivies, so the rejection rate is higher. I hate to say it, but concert pianists are a dime a dozen on college applications. Good luck and may affirmative action be on your side.</p>

5

<p>@arrozconleche Does being adopted make a difference? Both of my parents are caucasian.</p>

6

<p>Are you going for music? I don’t want to make assumptions.</p>

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<p>@Pianomle Being adopted makes for an interesting story which you can totally elaborate on, but no your parents don’t count since your race will clearly state Asian. </p>

<p>@immasenior I assumed that as well, which makes it so much tougher.</p>

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<p>With your mix of athletics and music and drive and passion…I think you are well-suited indeed for any top college.</p>

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<p>@immasenior @Lioness98 I would be going for a field within Chemistry because I absolutely love the subject and maybe pure math (I am not a genius at math but I have a lot of fun doing it). I have a lot of passions alongside the piano but would maybe consider a double major or something because I am looking towards medical school but want to keep exploring music. Thank you for all of your comments!</p>

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<p>As a parent, I don’t comment on chances but I feel that I may offer something useful to you. My son has a similar background as yours. Most of his piano buddies matriculated at ivies. These are the young artists who can pursue music professionally should they choose to do so, and who constantly appear in the semi final or final rounds of the major international YA competitions. From your post, I sensed that you might be one of this type of pianists.</p>

<p>Besides their dedication to music and high achievement, they are all exceptional students, high test scores, many many APs, perfect GPA, etc. So my advice is that you maintain the excellent addemics that you current have and do well on the SAT. </p>

<p>In your college app, make sure that you convey your passion and dedication in music. At the level you are in, you will have lots of details to write, as opposed to many piano students who take weekly lessons but practice little, and thus with a vey limited rep.</p>

<p>BTW, all the kids I mentioned above are Asian. :)</p>

11

<p>@Bearsgarden, Thank you for your thoughtful comment! I really appreciate the advice!</p>

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<p>The only reason I said that is because it tends to be true. I have quite a few Asian friends, many with stellar grades, EC’s and sports, all except 2 got rejected from Ivies.</p>

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<p>I would say that ivies are low reaches. Apart from you musical exploits, your application is only a bit above average. I can’t claim to know how much your piano playing will help you, though. </p>

<p>It might be easier to chance you once you take standardized tests.</p>

<p>Also, why should a top-tier school accept you for chemistry if you haven’t shown an interest in it? Most of your supplements will be music related, I’m assuming.</p>

14

<p>I reread your post and realized that your academic interest is very similar to my son’s. PM me if you have questions. My son just went through the process. Will be glad to share our experience. Good luck. Work hard, follow your passion, and prepare an application that truly shows who you are. Then even if you do not have the results that you were hoping for, you will not have regrets. This has been our philosophy all along and we have seen the true value of his intense music training, great time management skills, the drive in seeking perfection, and the ability to handle criticism and learn from critiques. And I shall say the excellent memorization ability which will be usefulbfor the med school.</p>

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<p>@Immasenior I haven’t shown an interest in chemistry because I wasn’t exposed to it until this past year. My parents are both actors and so as a child I got really involved in the arts and didn’t pay much attention to the sciences until I started taking them in high school. I’m hoping to study Chemistry this summer at a college’s summer program.</p>