Does UF have Music Therapy? What Music degree does UF have that you wish to apply for that doesn’t require an audition?
While I don’t discount what you’re saying, if you don’t submit a supplement, there is no way for the universities to see the work that you’ve put in and that you’re serious about the piano. AOs want to see that you are capable of sticking with something and learning it at a very deep level. You have this! Show them that you’re more than your 3.6 gpa!
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I don’t think I’ve seen the cancer “excuse” addressed so I will because I have direct experience with the matter. I will say at the outset that I am sorry you experienced this and I hope his health is now stable. And I am not at underestimating how stressful this experience was.
But this experience will likely not change how your gpa is reviewed unless you also experienced specific life altering side effects (lost housing, entered foster care, withdrew because you were the sole care giver, etc.). There are too many cancer parents and there are too many kids framing those experiences in a Phoenix rising from the ashes way or I had a terrible year because of cancer/pandemic and I STILL had a 4.0 and completed 200 hours of community service. Saying I had a lousy year because I was stressed will get you understanding but no consideration.
Please keep this in mind and come up with some realistic schools that fit your current stats.
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I seriously doubt this would be considered a hook for this student. Tons of students applying to top tier schools have excellent music related ECs.
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Point taken. Nonetheless, I think it would strengthen his application.
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His application will only be strengthened IF he includes something showing his musical talent. I agree with above posters. Send a music supplement if you want to showcase your talents.
100% agree.
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I think you should spend some time on Cornell’s website. They offer neither a music history major nor a music therapy major. If those are avenues you are seriously considering, you should probably start by looking at colleges that offer those programs. It will be hard to convince AO’s that you are serious about being a good fit when they don’t even offer what you are telling them you want.
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In your demographic and with your goals, it would be typical to hire a professional private counselor of the “Ivy or bust” variety. (Hopefully not of the Rick Singer subgenus, but there are plenty who work on the right side of the law.) Such a person will have expertise in which ways of “gaming” elite admissions will work, and which will not. And they will not react negatively to the fact that you essentially wish to leverage wealth and privilege in order to secure opportunities that will, it is hoped, multiply same. Of course they will not, because that is the engine of their success as well!
Why solicit advice from volunteers you do not trust, when you can pay for someone you do?
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Why is no one noticing my 1500 SAT? Could that potentially partially make up for my GPA?
Because it is literally average at Cornell. (Okay, maybe 10-20 points above average but within the margin of error.) A literal majority of Cornell applicants have a verbal score of 700+. On math a majority have 750+. (Source: http://irp.dpb.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Profile2018-Freshmen2.pdf )
It is very good, and congratulations, but it will not stand out in this tier. Even a perfect SAT would only move the needle a little. They’re looking for the whole package.
And when test scores are much more impressive than grades, schools often question why the student is underperforming.
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Not likely. Other applicants will have an equal test score AND better grades/rank. Lopsided GPA/test scores tend to show one of two things: grade inflation (if gpa is higher than correlating test score) or, in your case, you are capable of doing better in the classroom than you did. You can say you have a reason for lower grades but colleges have a reason to wonder if you can handle their workload.
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This is the issue. The OP assumes going to a top 30 means success financially and not going means otherwise. He should check out the grads from last and this year’s top 30.
In the end you will make your success. Not the school. My son is a prime example. He wasn’t recruited but applied on line. Did his hirevue. Is on an engineering team with ga tech students this summer. Same salary. From Bama. The internet is giving more opportunity to more kids. Companies are focusing less on target schools.
It’s sad that all this marketing and perception are filling the OP’s head. And not just his.
There are poor Harvard MBAs and rich high school dropouts.
It’s your attitude and effort combined with a bit of luck that will make you. Some kids…you can tell up front…if they will be successful whether they go to Dartmouth or MTSU.
Btw if you want to make money don’t go into music therapy. That’s the other issue. You are trying to game the system. Play straight. Play fair. People who fake get caught and those are the people others don’t want to work with.
If you want cold, go to Miami of Ohio, Pitt, Denver. Apply Rochester as a stretch and Syracuse as a match. UVM another solid with aid. I promise you all are producing many successful kids.
I get the bright futures. Florida and Ga kids are lucky. But if you will be unhappy what’s the point ??
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My D had a friend in HS with a 1520 SAT and around the same GPA as you. Not only did he not get into his reaches, including the one where he was a legacy, he also didn’t get into the state flagship or his matches. He only got into the regional safety that his GC made him apply to at the last minute. I agree that there could be a perception that you didn’t work hard in HS or up to your potential.
IMO, you want to take the weakest part of your application and find your safety schools around that metric, not your highest. For sure applying to your reaches too but a safety has to be a sure thing and one that you can see yourself attending.
As an aside, the friend who didn’t get into anywhere but the safety started freshman year with the intention of transferring. He ended up loving his school, getting into honors college, landed a super co-op, and is knocking it out of the park. (He’s a rising senior now).
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What about my super-hard courseload at a T60 high school?
Your grades are your grades. Presumably you went to this high school and had the potential to get grades more in line with your SAT score. You didn’t.
Adding…I’m not saying you won’t get accepted to some school on your list. But you do need to cast a wider and more varied net.
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Because, frankly, they are not that hard. My S22 is a full IB candidate, taking a comparable course load (if not harder), has an ACT of 34, higher grades, and comparable ECs. We aren’t looking at T30 schools. They just aren’t worth it. The people applying to them either should not be or are just like you. For the record, I read scholarship applications for SMU. So, I know a little about the system.
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What do you guys think my chances are for NYU? I saw NYU’s 2021 common set and their average GPA was 3.71
Have you started working on your essays? They are going to be a very important part of your application.
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I weighted all of this and assumed you had national/international recognition for piano when I made my estimations/chances. (I figured you kept going with high level piano after the 7th grade).
The fact your school is a known quantity will help put your gpa in perspective, especially if it provides a gpa breakdown for your class. It will also matter that your gc mentiond how you suffered from your father’s cancer, rather than yourself.
Apply straight to business/management or economics for UF, since they do not weight majors, they figure all these would-be premed and business majors will sort themselves out after the weedout courses - so, for admission, weighted GPA*Test scores will matter most, then the rest. Your school having a relationship with them will help, too.
An issue is that you can’t transfer into a Business major (either from a CC or as PACe) so I would imagine internal transfers can’t be taken for granted. So, at UF, no downside to applying straight to the major you want.
At colleges that don’t admit by major, they will nevertheless compare you to those who applied to the same broad category. Your schedule and ECs need to show your choice matches what you’ve been doing in HS.
At NYU your ECs would imply you’d apply to Steinhardt, which is an easier admit than CAS and much easier than Stern. But ROI is pretty low…
People on this forum are trying to help but don’t quite understand the dichotomy between wanting to work in music therapy and education v. Wanting to make lots of money and having a prestigious name to mention at the lunch table. It’s like two different people who want opposite things, one in HS and one for the future.
Btw have you considered music therapy by combining BAs in cognitive science and music?
BF GPA is usually just core classes. So, with 4.37 you’re below the middle range for UF and if about 1/3rd in your school get into UF with a 31% class rank you’re right at the borderline for UF, admissions would be 50-50, equal chances you’dget in or not. In other words, how would you feel if your only admission were FSU?
To me, it’d feel like a wasted opportunity because there are quite a few colleges that match your preferences better…
FSU is your safety: your gpa is average and your SAT well above average there, you’llget in due to your school’sreputationetc. But, based on what you said you want, would you really be happy at FSU?
Not sure why UVermont isn’t on your list - it’s a favorite of prep school students who can’t get into a NESCAC and/or want cachet+New England+medium sized university. Honors college possible due to SAT+ Strength of curriculum.
For a career powerhouse, not sure why Penn State isn’t on your list. Tops for alumni network through the North/Mid-Atlantic, career fairs that companies book a year in advance + applying DUS would make it another safety + you could apply to Schreyer.
At both, make sure your transcript lists your BF GPA too.
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