<p>I'm a harvard hopeful, but i'm only in the tenth grade. My main extracurricular acivity is music. I play in a proffesional symphony orchestra, compete nationally, and I have been to a prestigious camp(itzhak perlmann, he is a world-class violinist and a professor at Julliard)
I was wondering what Harvard expects from us musicians, because I am not really well rounded as I don't do sports, and the cluds at my school are not really worth joining( they are laundry list types). I guess I should mention that I'm Canadian, so maybe their expectations are different?
Enlighten me Byerly!</p>
<p>Well, I'm not Byerly but in the chances forum I said that I didn't think your friend (or is it you?) has/have no chance. You asked why, I'll answer here. </p>
<p>No, I'm not a Harvard acceptee. I don't think she'll make it because if music is her ONLY thing and she's not one of the absolute BEST in the world, she essentially has nothing going for her. If music is her thing, then she/you? needs/need to become the next Hilary Hahn really really really fast.</p>
<p>They are my friend's stats, but I thought that it would be more personal if I said it was mine, since people seem to think she has no chance what so ever. Anyways, in reply to her not being the best in the world, you need to get it through your head that Harvard is not just for little Mozarts and paganinis. If it was , no one would make it except for two or three people every year. Are you a music person? If not then I think you need a better reason than the one you mentioned to justify saying she has no chance at all.</p>
<p>...i think that was rather harsh</p>
<p>don't worry seth, I'm sure you have other wonderful qualities that go beyond playing your instrument. Meaningful qualities in an applicant don't necessarily have to be great EC's or some sort of hook, they can just as easily be a great personality, leadership skills, or uncommon motivation. I don't think I necessarily have the most impressive EC's in the Harvard RD applicant pool, but due to my passion and earnestness, I was given a second interview. Never lose hope, and best of luck to you. :)</p>
<p>Well, they are my friend's stats, but good luck to you too.</p>
<p>This is confusing.</p>
<p>What are the academic stats, and whose are they? Are they posted on the PR Stats site?</p>
<p>Who is it that has the musical talent, and who will testify to that talent, and are tapes available?</p>
<p>my friend's stats actually.
sat: 1569
gpa: 94
music stats:
proffesional symphony, prestigious camp, nationally competitive
I don't think its that confusing.</p>
<p>(1569?)</p>
<p>A nationally competitive musician seems to have the hook I thought H was looking for, but perhaps I'm wrong.</p>
<p>goodluck to your friend</p>
<p>
[quote]
1569?)</p>
<p>A nationally competitive musician seems to have the hook I thought H was looking for, but perhaps I'm wrong.</p>
<p>goodluck to your friend
[/quote]
Dude chill out!!!! The 9 key is very close to the 0 key on a computer keyboard, so he probably just mistyped.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Well, I'm not Byerly but in the chances forum I said that I didn't think your friend (or is it you?) has/have no chance. You asked why, I'll answer here. </p>
<p>No, I'm not a Harvard acceptee. I don't think she'll make it because if music is her ONLY thing and she's not one of the absolute BEST in the world, she essentially has nothing going for her. If music is her thing, then she/you? needs/need to become the next Hilary Hahn really really really fast.
[/quote]
LOL, that was quite possibly the funniest thing I have heard today. Harvard isn't a school for the gods buddy. Harvard doesn't expect a national level musician to be of Mozart's caliber. Since the OP's friend has a good GPA and a good SAT score, she will be definitely admitted to Harvard unless he/she really screwed up somewhere. I love how everybody on this site thinks that no one is good enough for Harvard just because they aren't.</p>
<p>man<em>on</em>fire: Getting into Harvard is more challenging than you make it seem to be.</p>
<p>im sry but i dont think she has a chance at harvard. no she does not have to be a Hilary Hahn but, going to 1 camp and wins some competitions isnt going to cut it for Harvard. There are hundreds of very very well-rounded individuals who are also amazing at their instruments. All ur friend has is SAT score, GPA, and some musical achievements. I would suggest her go to a conservatory since obviously all she has done throughout her high school career is focus on music and nothing else - must be her passion? i dun see how harvard will satisfy this passion....</p>
<p>What sort of professional orchestra are we talking about? Regional or metropolitan?</p>
<p>Well, man<em>on</em>fire, I'd like to see what makes YOU so Harvard-worthy. I'm sure you've got every hook possible, seeing as how you've asked people to do you math homework on the SAT and Test Prep forum before.</p>
<p>Back to the original topic, however, one thing nobody has asked, what race is this girl? </p>
<p>If she's asian, once again, I'm sorry, but the vast majority of asian applicants to Harvard play the violin. </p>
<p>If she were Hispanic, that'd be another story, but let's not get into that.</p>
<p>MzLover3, your omniscient tone disturbs me. You've conceded that you haven't been accepted to Harvard yet, and I don't think the admitted students could even accurately judge such things. Maybe you want to watch the way you assess other people's chances, since I don't think you're quite sure what it takes to get in yourself--you haven't even heard back yet.</p>
<p>navy blue and others that are "judging" mzlover's assessment. his assessment is PERFECTLY accurate. u obviously dont know much about music. music is one the few ECs that really dont mean very much. why? because so many people do it and so many people are very very very good. "i play ziguerneweisn, sibelius, paganini caprices, carmen suites, tchaik" it doesnt matter what u are playing or what u send in because hundreds of other applicants are sending in the exact same pieces playing it exactly as beautifully as you. it is definitely a plus if you play very well and are well-rounded at the same time, but music alone will not get u into college - a conservatory but not a college. </p>
<p>what is this professional orchestra, maybe in canada but in the states professional orchestras....you cant be in it if you were at this age. </p>
<p>what is this camp? 1 camp isnt going to do anything. just because itzahk pearlman is a guest there. you can have private lessons with him (if you go to juilliard prep) and be amazing (which they are most end up at curtis/juilliard/ccm), but if they were to apply to harvard i highly doubt they would get in on music alone.</p>
<p>Your friend has some decent academic stats. However, I think if your friend had some other activities I think it would improve her chances quite a bit. The violin is a rather commonly played instrument and the competition is pretty fierce, especially with some of the Asian violin gods applying. I don't know if its wise to rely on that one hook, unless you are extremely distinguished in it or something... Things would be a lot easier if she were hispanic or african american. If she's Asian, then I wouldn't bet on her chances...</p>
<p>does harvard look for those people who play those"rare" instruments like the horn, bassoon? btw i play the horn quite well so if i send in a cd, would that make any impact?</p>
<p>You don't have to be the next Hilary Hahn, actually, for music to count for a lot on an app. But you do have to be really serious about it. "Really serious" means 20+ hours per week. (And there are people who do much more than that, but I think that's kind of crazy, if you're going to school and serious about academics and other things, too.) It's equivalent to serious sports and often more time-consuming. "Really serious" does not mean "clarinet player in the local youth wind ensemble" or "in the first violin section of my school orchestra." And true, as shrek said, it's better to be an Itzhak Perlman student than to go to his camp, but his camp is a good one, and it counts for something. And there are lots of great teachers around, too, and it may be that you study with one of them. The camp also shows you use your summer time well and are serious enough to want to devote a summer to music. And you don't need sports if you have music or something else.</p>
<p>Thanks for the support, shrek2004.</p>
<p>yahooo, it really depends. Again, you must be great, and the intrument must also be needed. (A graduating senior or transfer must leave for you to be desirable.) Of course, there's no way to know if your intrument is needed in any given year, but it's worth a try. But like shrek2004 said, an applicant should not rely on music alone...</p>