<p>Hello, this might be a long post... I'm a junior and I have some concerns about my future prospects for college admissions and such.</p>
<p>I'm a Korean female (born in America) and I go to a very competitive school in the Bay Area in California that's known for its extremely rigorous academics and high API score and the like. It doesn't weight classes.</p>
<p>As for some of my aspirations, I would like to either double major in literature/writing + music, or simply major in music performance/teaching (I may apply to some conservatories).</p>
<p>Standardized test scores:</p>
<p>I received a 2370 on the SAT (800 reading, 800 writing with an 11 on the essay, 770 on math). I plan to take the MathII, Lit, and Spanish SATII tests (I've taken the Chem SATII but only got a 710). I also got a 235 on the PSAT.</p>
<p>Here's a breakdown of my grades so far (and just fyi, 7 classes is the maximum amount you can take, and our school only offers AP classes, no IBs):</p>
<p>Freshman year:</p>
<p>Biology, A/A
Lit/Writ, A/A
Alg2/Trig, A/A
Java Programming, A/A
PE9, A/A
Orchestra, A/A
Spanish 2, A/A</p>
<p>Sophomore year:</p>
<p>Chem Honors, B/B (they were both borderline grades)
Pre-Calc Honors, A/A
World Lit, A/A
World History, A/A
Spanish 3, A/B (the B was also a borderline grade)
Chamber Orchestra, A/A (highest level of orchestra that's only available soph year+)</p>
<p>Junior year so far:</p>
<p>Physiology, A
Spanish Honors, A
American Literature Honors, A
Music Theory AP, A
US History, A
AP Calculus AB, C (this is what concerns me about my chances)
Chamber Orchestra, A</p>
<p>Plans for senior year:</p>
<p>AP Statistics
AP Spanish
AP Environmental Science
AP Literature
Gov/Econ
Chamber Orchestra
Weight Training</p>
<p>Moving on to extracurriculars:</p>
<p>My world heavily revolves around music. It's one of those rare, true passions for me. I play the double bass (as well as some other instruments but that's mostly for fun).</p>
<p>I don't know if this helps, but I've finished all the way through level 12 of the CAPMT piano theory testing (12 is the highest you can go).</p>
<p>I've been principal bassist of my school orchestra for the past three years so far (and I will probably be principal my senior year as well).</p>
<p>I'm also co-principal bassist of CYS, a pretty prestigious youth orchestra, and this is my second year in the highest orchestra. Before joining CYS, I was principal bassist of SJYCO, a small local orchestra, for a year.</p>
<p>I recently participated in the Santa Clara County Honor Band (I was the only bassist so seating is irrelevant).</p>
<p>I was recently accepted for the second time into the California All-State Honors Orchestra (I was principal bassist last year) and we'll see how seating auditions go this year.</p>
<p>Last October I was principal bassist of the NAfME All-National Honors Orchestra.</p>
<p>I applied for NYO-USA, a national orchestra hosted by Carnegie Hall that is extremely competitive and recently formed. I doubt that I'll get in... but we'll see.</p>
<p>I plan to audition for a Young Artist Competition, so if I win, I will get to solo with a local youth orchestra. I may also apply to appear on "From the Top," a national radio show hosted by NPR that features young classical musicians. However, the likelihood of being accepted into these two is small (as a double bassist it's difficult to win as a soloist compared to other instrumentalists).</p>
<p>Over the summer between sophomore and junior year, I also participated in the UC Berkeley Summer Symphony and the Stanford Summer Symphony (but there is no seating for these summer orchestras). I also received a full scholarship for a small summer music camp at CSU Stanislaus.</p>
<p>This summer will also be my second year as the principal bassist of KAMSA, a local Korean-American youth orchestra. </p>
<p>I think that's all concerning orchestras/competitions.</p>
<p>Other extracurriculars:</p>
<p>I submitted a short story to the PTA Reflections Competition, but results haven't been announced yet (if I win, it will advance to state level, and in the best case scenario, national). I am also working on a book.</p>
<p>I'm the president of Tri-M Music Honors Society, a club at school that does music-related activities such as performing at hospitals. This is my second year in the club. (volunteer)</p>
<p>I'm also the co-president of MUSE, a small chamber ensemble that performs at senior centers every month. Every year, we also organize a benefit concert where we raise money and donate to third world or other causes (for example, this year we raised almost $4,000 and donated to the typhoon relief efforts in the Philippines). (volunteer)</p>
<p>I'm an officer of the Palo Alto Fire Explorers, an organization that provides First-Aid at large events like 5K runs, and teaches members First-Aid, firefighting, and other basic medical skills. (volunteer)</p>
<p>I'm also a member of ELD-EST, an after school club of students who tutor elementary children. (volunteer)</p>
<p>Sorry for the very long post, I just wanted to be as thorough as possible. Basically, my situation is that I've had pretty good hopes until I got a C in AP Calc AB.</p>
<p>So I'd like to know a few things:</p>
<p>Should I bother at all to apply to any Ivy League (I had in mind Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth, maybe Brown...... until I got that C)? I know the C has ruined a lot of my chances, but should I still at least apply? And how low are the chances?</p>
<p>Also, are there any colleges you would recommend that would be more reasonable to consider my acceptance? (for instance, would UC Berkeley or UCLA be very unlikely because of my C? are there any good colleges that would still accept me?)</p>
<p>For Calc AB, I've gotten a tutor and hope to earn an A second semester, get an 800 on the MathII SAT test, and hopefully a 5 on the AP test. If there's any other way I can even remotely compensate for this C, any advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Thank you so much if you took the time to read through this. Any help would be wonderful.</p>
