Chance me !!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Okay so I know that there are a lot of these posts out there but I really would like to know!!

I am a junior at a small town in upstate New York (white/female/need aid) so there’s some background…

  • I want to apply to Harvard/NEC, Juilliard/Columbia, John’s Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, Yale, etc
  • I know I’m top 3 in my class.
  • (Don’t know out of 4 scale) my average is a 102.3 so far but I don’t know how to translate that to an out of 4.0 scale.
  • 3 AP classes, 6 collège/dual enrollment classes; i will have enough credits to obtain an associates degree by the end of my high school career
  • My school didn’t offer any college classes or AP in my freshmen year

EC’s In-School

  • President of Key Club
  • Won a grant for key club
  • French club, SADD, envirothon, dungeons and dragons club
  • A capella, jazz band (first chair) since 6th grade, band, (first chair), chorus, pep band since sixth grade, pit band

EC’s outside of school (I play french horn)

  • Juilliard Pre-College
  • Juilliard MAP
  • 2 recitals at Juilliard, 2 more this year
  • Preformed 3 times at Carnegie hall, 1 time in the Sydney Opera House, and now 1 time in Vienna
  • First chair in all state
  • First chair in local youth orchestra for 3 years; been in it for 7
  • 2 level 6 solos at NYSSMA; score 100
  • Performed at multiple senior centers and was asked to perform with the National alzheimer’s Association
  • Interlochen Summer Camp
  • New England Music Camp
  • Paid professionally in SMYRNA community band (first chair)
  • Played in professional pit groups for musicals
  • Ofc Area-all state and various local things are included (first chairs)

There is more but I don’t feel like listing all of them

Other EC’s

  • Volunteering for senior centers
  • Spend time learning other languages
  • HOBY Leadership Conférence

Again there’s more but its 4 AM

The problem is ;

  • My school has not let me take my SAT (I need to take it for free) until the spring of my junior year but my PSATS have projected that my score will be somewhere in the 1300-1400 so obviously I will work very hard on the SAT
  • I have multiple LOR from teachers at Juilliard and from school
  • I have multiple essays including my passion for learning languages to better our community and to help immigrants (idk if I’m even using that lol)
  • If possible I’d like to double major in Horn Performance and International Affairs
    *I do a lot in music because I had 6 concussions (3 were from school) so I never could do any sports which is also why I do things for Alzheimer’s/Dementia

this is why I split my time between music and volunteering

2

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3

Your GPA, rank, and course rigor are all competitive. It’s totally ok that you haven’t started testing yet: most juniors don’t start until the spring, even those applying to the schools you mentioned. Your extracurriculars sound impressive and more than imply your deep interest and talent in music. If your SAT is as strong as everything else on your application, I’d say you are a competitive applicant, just like the majority of other applicants. What will truly set you apart are your essays, recs, and in your case, auditions. Speaking of recs, in general, if you are going to get a rec outside of your two teacher recs, they should be doing more than repeating the same things your teachers would say. They should offer a new perspective that reveals things about who you are a student/person that your teachers wouldn’t be able to speak on. And only one outside rec is necessary.

4

Are you planning to be a music major?

If you are a music performance major it is hard to chance you since we can’t hear you play. U.Mass Amherst and McGill both have excellent music programs although McGill is also academically very challenging (which it looks like you can handle). I am assuming that some SUNY’s probably do also but I would not know which ones.

I would think of Yale and Julliard and Harvard as reaches, but it looks like they are probably worth applications in your case. We might be able to guess with greater accuracy when we see your test scores.

I would be very careful about avoiding additional concussions, but I suspect that you already know this.

5

Thank you for the feedback! If it gives you anything to go off of, multiple horn players including ones from the NY Phil, the MET, and Eastman have told me I have a really good chance for that so of course those are reach schools and my dreams, but I’ve been told I can make it :slight_smile: So I am mostly looking for the academic side at the moment hehe

Also the only SUNY school I’d go to as a safety would be fredonia but sadly I’d be walking into a place with my old bullies lol

Thank you for the feedback!!!