<p>My test scores are:
SAT I - 2300 (790 on Reading, 710 on Math, 800 on Writing)
SAT II - 800 on US History, 780 on Literature</p>
<p>GPA:
3.98 Unweighted
4.6 Weighted</p>
<p>Rank:
3/333</p>
<p>Anticipated Major: Political Science</p>
<p>APs:
US History - 5
English Comp. - 4</p>
<p>Current APs: Statistics, Music Theory, English Literature, and Comparative Politics. </p>
<p>All other classes are honors or high honors.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
Jazz Combo (piano)
Brass Sextet (tuba)
Marching Band (tuba)
Jazz Band (piano)
Symphonic Band (tuba)
National Honor Society
Spanish Honor Society
Green Party Club (founder/president)</p>
<p>Volunteer Work:
Worked on two political campaigns for state level offices
Worked at local park
Provided lots of free entertainment for public events with various music groups</p>
<p>Work:
Busboy from 6/05 to present
Camp counselor during summers</p>
<p>I anticipate very good recommendations. </p>
<p>All the usual awards. No summer programs because I've had to work.</p>
<p>List as of now:
Columbia
Brown
Dartmouth
U Chicago
Amherst
NYU</p>
<p>Being that I don't have 20 APs or any fancy summer programs and am a white male from a public school in CT, what do I have a shot at?</p>
<p>None of the schools on your list is unreasonable. You need a couple of likely admits that are also financial safeties. Something in the midwest or south might be a good idea since applications from your neck of the woods are so heavy to the northeastern schools. You sound like a great person, and I hope that you will be able to continue your music in college.</p>
<p>i'd like to add that i'm going to be sending in a music CD supplement that will be pretty good and that I'm writing my essay about being with my mother while she succumbed to cancer this past summer. please don't give any sympathy replies, i'm just saying what may or may not set me apart.</p>
<p>Columbia= match
Brown = match
Dartmouth=match
U Chicago=match
Amherst=match
NYU=saftey</p>
<p>(Being a match at the schools you are applying to is not like being a match at a regular school.... Your chances are not 50% or anything near that high at your schools(except NYU) but if you apply to all of them you should get accepted to atleast 1.</p>
<p>The only thing holding you back are your EC's, but your dedication to music will help make up for that.</p>
<p>Your ECs are very unimpressive...remember, quality over quantity. Everything else seems good though, so I'd say you're in at any of them besides the Ivies (Brown is borderline, the other two are unlikely)</p>
<p>i don't understand why you all said my ECs were bad. music takes up an enormous amount of time and i've been involved in the highest level music groups at my school for four years. both the combo and the sextet meet multiple times a week for multiple hours and have gigs several times a month. those gigs and rehearsals combined with personal practice time means that they take up much more time than athletics or student government. really dedicating yourself to a few music groups is not "quantity over quality," quite the opposite, though i should have listed the hours of each activity to clarify that. </p>
<p>also note the scarcity of tuba players.</p>
<p>i know that isn't amazingly impressive, but i'd say average, not "very unimpressive."</p>
<p>You must portray this in your college applications.
Show them all the time you put into your music.
Just filling out the EC section with your EC's will look unimpressive.
You need to use one of your essay responses or extra info sections to convey your deep passion for music, how it has impacted your life, and how you are truly dedicated to it. This will make you look good in the eyes of your adcom.</p>
<p>I really encourage you to add at least one true safety school to your list, just in case all the stars align against you. (There was a case on here last year of such a kid.)</p>
<p>If Chicago likes the way you fill out their quirky application, I think you will get in there (essays count a lot), and chances are also good at NYU, though it's a hot school and gets more selective each year, so that I would never call it a safety.</p>
<p>Columbia is a reach for everybody, but more so for you because you are from Connecticut (ever consider moving to Oklahoma?). While tuba is unusual, that doesn't necessarily mean they are looking for tuba players. Dartmouth and Brown also are possible, but no one should consider them a match. </p>
<p>Amherst will want to know that you really, really want to go there. Contact them, visit them, court them.</p>
<p>In other words, you have excellent stats and will be seriously considered every place on your list. You will probably get into several of the schools, at least. But you have no school on there that is a sure bet, and that would worry me if I were your guidance counselor.</p>
<p>Stony Brook should be a safety, but not Oberlin. </p>
<p>Oberlin is another one of those schools that turn people down they don't think really want to come there, and, as a college with a conservatory, your music will not necessarily make you stand out. So I would not consider it a safety. If you do want to go there, you should make sure they know your interest is high.</p>
<p>Would you go to Stony Brook? Because if you really wouldn't consider it, you might add another true safety that you would go to.</p>
<p>I don't say all this to scare you, just to make sure all bets are covered in case the applicant pool happens to be full of male tuba-players from Connecticut this year. Best of luck!</p>