<p>...like the way they do to athletes? I heard that H has 4 orchestras and that music in the Ivies, especially is pretty serious.</p>
<p>More Harvard admits list music as an EC than any other activity. There are the orchestras, the Harvard Band, the chamber groups, numerous singing groups, etc. </p>
<p>Music faculty spend many hours listening to and evaluating tapes submitted by applicants. </p>
<p>And the recruiting doesn't stop there; just the other day I cited a story where a musically talented admit got a congratulatory phone call from Yo-yo Ma '76 urging her to accept Harvard's offer!</p>
<p>Would you say much of the "recruiting" is through the adcoms listening to the tapes/cd's?</p>
<p>You could always try to set up an audition before you apply, it may give you that extra boost in admissions if the professor really liked you</p>
<p>Music is very serious here. Because I have so many other extracurriculars, I had to "give up" my violin because I just did not have the time to devote myself to it. However, I still try to attend a lot of the concerts on campus, such as the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, the Bach Society, Mozart Society, Pops, UChoir and the Holden Choruses, who recently sang Handel's Messiah (which was absolutely astounding).</p>
<p>Adcoms know that not all of us who list music as our EC will necessarily pursue that EC in college, but one thing they'll know is that they have a group of kids who know how to listen and enjoy all different kinds of music.</p>
<p>"Recruit" is a strong word. It's not as if they'll lower their standards for musicians--nor do they have a specific outreach program to attract them. Music probably does help your application, though, especially if you do it at a decently high level.</p>
<p>I read somewhere that of the cd's rated "nationally outstanding," there was a 61% admit rate.</p>
<p>music helps RIDICULOUSLY. but you have to be REALLY good...like winner of national/international competitions, student at NEC/Juilliard/CIM pre-college, etc.</p>
<p>A year ago, my D was considering music performance programs at top schools of music, and also contacted music faculty at the Ivies to see if her musical abilities might serve as a hook there. While she wasn't sought out per se by Harvard, the professor with whom she communicated there was very encouraging and indicated up front that if he had the opportunity to assess her musical skills in person, he might be of assistance in the admissions process. She arranged an audition with him, brought him a CD and repertoire list, and included the CD and repertoire as supplemental materials when she applied Early Action. She was accepted EA and is going there this fall; her credentials were pretty good without the music so she may have made it in regardless, but the advocacy from the department certainly couldn't have hurt.</p>
<p>All I did was mail in a cd with a wide range of pieces on it. I also threw in some articles about my performances/competitions. I didn't go in for an "audition" or even an interview. I just had my regular interview with a person locally in NYC.</p>
<p>It necessary to win many competitions? Can they judge my ability simply through the cd?</p>