Didn’t read the entire thread, but to add onto CMU–there actually is a double major, dual degree, and BXA Intercollegiate program. If you audition you could get into these programs. I’ve never heard of Columbia College as a music school, so that’s also something to consider. CMU’s music school is very small and everyone there is a pretty good musician to an extent.
OP was worried about auditioning at CMU, did not think she would make it into the music program in some of her posts. But she also talked about taking 5 years to double major in music and CS.
Columbia offers Columbia Julliard
https://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/apply/first-year/juilliard-program
@deadgirl, you’ve written sixteen original threads asking for help and advice, sometimes desperately, and received over 500 thoughtful, well-considered replies. Many of us here on CC came to care about you and are very interested to know how your story turned out. The last we knew, there were only a few hours until the deadline, and you were still unsure and had even started to question whether to get a degree at all. You’re under no obligation to follow up, of course, but people have been asking politely asking for a while now, and you keep visiting CC without responding. If you’re willing to share, what final decision did you make?
Or was this just a strange CC version of being “Catfished”. lol.
I hope not, but it doesn’t really matter because the wonderful advice posters shared will apply to others over time.
But I was really invested in things working out for the OP.
PM me to know where I committed. It’s not set in stone though. I’m taking a gap year and possibly reapplying and everything. I’ve applied for some jobs etc. A lot isn’t set in stone.
I don’t want my threads to have identifiable information and I feel as though saying my plans pretty much makes me even more identifiable.
Enjoy your gap year! 
You don’t have to discuss your plans but it would be nice if you shared how it went from can’t decide between 2 schools to gap year and reapply.
Gap year sounds like a great decision. There’s so much you can do to gain ground both in coding experience and as a musician, that need not have anything to do with earning college credit; and also just take the time to process and work through all of the emotions and issues that have come up through this process. My hope for you is that this will become a very positive, forward-looking experience, which is to say that it will NOT become fixated on a Stanford-or-bust oriented re-application process. (Hopefully the deferral agreement at the school you chose permits you to file the applications you do want to attempt… but if you really want to give The Tree one more Hail-Mary try, I’d urge you to at least apply REA and resolve to walk away and move on if it doesn’t happen in the early cycle.) Congrats on getting through this challenging process with an ace-in-the-hole admission nailed down and time to step out of the rat-race and bring your own aspirations and passions into focus. Well done, and best of luck!
I would disagree, math skills get slack on a gap year. If you want to major in music, why not just get started with the fine faculty you have access to at CMU or Columbia? It makes no sense to take a gap year, when you got into two top schools! You may risk that both Columbia and CMU reject you,on reapplication, after a gap year. unless they approve your gap year. If they approve it then OK, but still back to , your math will go stale, and you may be bored and lonely unless you go travel or go to a specific coding or music program, but you already have that at both CMU and Columbia, so its makes no sense to wander aimlessly for a year! Gap years are for kids who really don’t have other options. You have options. .
Its very unlikely you can get into Stanford after a gap year, so close that chapter. A gap year makes you look stale and you actually get stale on math, unless you go ahead and take math classes, but why not just do that at CMU or Columbia?
^Actually, gap years are tremendous growth experiences, which is why top universities recommend them (to the point Princeton actually funds one for its admitted students).
A gap year is not “wandering aimlessly” BTW but it needs to have structure, which a student as smart as OP can surely create.
A gap year that is planned out is perfectly fine. However, I would caution the OP not to take a gap year if the sole purpose in her mind is to reapply to Stanford hoping to get a different outcome than she had this year.
Some colleges won’t permit a second application if the first round was a rejection. If OP wants to put Stanford in play again she should make sure they will accept a new application.
I think you misunderstand the purpose of a gap year. They don’t make students look “stale.” People take them for all kinds of reasons and colleges encourage them.
University of Chicago? University of Maryland? Columbia or CMU? Gap year or is it really worth it? I’m halfway convinced this thread has been a hoax.
@Rivet2000 she did make a decision if you see post #124.
Not much of a decision.
My gap year will be spent doing academic work in the area of where my college that I chose is located. I won’t be applying to any schools. This thread is NOT a hoax. There’s not that many people in the world who have an undying love for music so much that they want to double major in it, have gotten a full ride at their state flagship, and are choosing between CMU and Columbia (which they got off the waitlist for). People from my high school have found these threads and have sent them around a bit and I’d honestly rather have them deleted and answer any concerns in my PMs because some of my past threads are simply embarrassing.
I’m sorry that has happened, @deadgirl - it’s not an uncommon problem, and unfortunately CC isn’t accommodating, as a matter of policy, about deleting past content. I hope the cc-related gossip blows over quickly.
As I understand it, it’s also a policy not to allow direct accusations that threads are hoaxes (hence the banning of the related word beginning with t) - I have seen members put in “time-out” for questioning another poster’s authenticity, but then again sometimes it is allowed to stand.
I’m sure you would have thought twice about some of your threads, if you had it to do over again; but then again you’ve been very gracious and thoughtful about accepting a range of feedback, some of which hasn’t been as kind as it could have been. That kind of resilience and willingness to learn even from criticism that may not be 100% fair will serve you well in your education and in life. Keep pushin’ forward!
Thank you aquapt and all those who helped me finally make this college decision and end this stressful process once and for all! I do agree that some of my posts were made quite impulsively, but the guidiance that I received through here (e.g. that anecdote about the person and the race) really helped me make my college decision and pushed me to question my aspirations!