Chances for the Ivies

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi there. I'm currently finishing up junior year and I want to see what my chances are like.
Here is some background:</p>

<p>I am: Asian male (Korean American), income bracket middle upper, public suburban high school in Cali (pretty competitive school)</p>

<p>Stats:
SAT: 2290, I am taking it again this Saturday.
SAT II: 800 on Latin, I am taking US history in June
GPA: Up until now 4.0 around 4.4 weighted. I don't know if I'll do that well this semester.
AP Courses: Sophomore year Euro and Calc AB (5's), This year Apush CalcBC and Chem
School Activity: I am vice president of Latin Club but besides that I am not very involved</p>

<p>Academics:
-Overall Academic Winner (9,10,11) and Overall Combined Winner (10,11) of the California Junior Classical League annual convention
-Perfect scores on the National Latin Exam (10,11)
- Sixth place overall at the National Junior Classical League convention (10)
- Actually came in first for my grade level, but sixth out of all Latin levels in the nation
- Graphic Arts Chair for CJCL convention (10)
- Captain of Quiz Bowl (certamen) team for our school, 2nd at state level
- Member of California certamen team for nationals</p>

<p>Extracurricular:
- 2nd place in the Music Teachers National Association strings competition (10), a prestigious competition for young musicians. Divided into three rounds, state, regional, and finalists. I placed 2nd (out of some 400) as a cellist, and lost to a violinist.
- Performances at Carnegie Hall for winners concert of American Fine Arts Festival and American Protege Competition (International Awards)
- NPR's From the Top, radio show (9)
- Rising Stars of California, I have performed in outreach concerts etc.
- I also perform for inmates at a prison twice a year
- Honorable mention in Davidson Institute
- Principal cellist for Oakland Youth Orchestra (9-10), Toured Costa Rica as soloist because I won concerto competition</p>

<p>This is basically all of what I have done in my high school career. I don't know about the SAT. My score is pretty low. Honestly, I just don't know. </p>

<p>Please chance me for the Ivies. More specifically: 1) Top tiers like hyp 2) low tier ivies 3) stanford and chicago (i have legacy at chicago)</p>

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

2

<p>bump bumpity bump</p>

3

<p>bampity bamparoo</p>

4

<p>bampity bamparoo</p>

5

<p>What is your intended major? While my musical accomplishments aren’t nearly as great as yours (did MTNA in middle school, got axed in state level) schools like Stanford and Princeton really appreciated my CommonApp music supplement (I sent in recordings of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto and Bach). It seems like most of your awards center on cello performance and Latin. Do you do any non-music related extracurriculars? Like volunteering at homeless shelters?</p>

6

<p>Thanks for replying! My intended major will be classics. Yes I am very lopsided on Latin and Music. Unfortunately I do not do any volunteering, but I consider playing for inmates a kind of volunteering. Did you get into any Ivies on music? Do you think I stand a chance?</p>

7

<p>You are in one of the most competitive pools there is being a Korean from CA. Your best bet, if you need an ivy, would be to choose Penn or Cornell and apply ED. I’m not seeing HYPS unless your music talent is highly unusual which is hard for us to assess.</p>

8

<p>@ Waverly
MTNA is the culmination of national competitions for young musicians in America. It’s like USAMO.</p>

9

<p>I understand, but the final decision on how much it helps will be an assessment of an arts supplement. Unfortunately it’s much more subjective than USAMO.</p>

10

<p>MTNA, for sure, gives your resume an extra plus just like the USAMO, but as Waverly said, music is highly subjective. I’m the assistant concertmaster of my local youth orchestra (you might figure out who I am since we’re from the same area) so I would consider myself among the top musicians in the Bay Area (I think I saw you at Bay of Hope last year). However, there is a huge range of talent that Ivies are looking for, and certainly I know people who placed internationally at competitions such as the Menuhin and Wieniawski, who did not make certain Ivies. It would be more helpful to really make an outstanding CommonApp recording which you can send to colleges, and take opportunities to audition live at the school if they offer the opportunity (Columbia-Julliard and Harvard-NEC dual-degree programs require live auditions). But yea, if you have any more questions about music making an impact on your application, feel free to shoot me a private message and I’ll be happy to help.</p>