I’m looking to apply Gettysburg ED 1 and am almost 99% convinced to do so. I visited the campus this past April and fell in love with the school, the teachers, the campus…everything! It was the first school I visited, but directly afterwards I toured Dartmouth, which didn’t have what I wanted (I want to pursue a dual degree in saxophone performance and psychology, but ivies don’t offer degrees in performance and their ensembles are extra-curricular, so unfortunately they do not offer what I need). Essentially, what I’m looking for is a strong academic program combined with a strong conservatory, and Gettysburg has this, with the offerings of rigorous studies and their Sunderman Conservatory.
Sometimes, however, it’s easy to get caught up in name. From what I’ve researched, Gettysburg is a very selective school, falling in the third tier, just below the Ivies (Harvard, Columbia) and schools like Johns Hopkins and Northwestern. I don’t want to get caught up in this “brand name” label (although Gettysburg does have it), I just want to make sure I’m making the absolute best decision. As of now, the only schools that truly compete with my love for Gettysburg and my decision to apply ED 1 there are Johns Hopkins and Northwestern, both of which are excellent academically and musically. However, I’m not too thrilled with the location of Hopkins (my sax teacher doesn’t see me there either), although Northwestern is amazing, but it is a much larger school. Thoughts? Will I get the best education possible at Gettysburg musically and academically as I would get at JHU or NU? I do love it. My stats are below. Anyone who could give their opinion would be much appreciated!
GPA: 96.741 UW, 98.210 W
Class Rank: Not given, but definitely in top 10%, possibly top 5% (final GPA’s have not been calculated yet). My school is small and public, but has a rigorous academic program (ranked in America’s top 100 best schools)
Junior year Courses: Advanced Pre-Calculus (Honors), IB Spanish (SL), IB English: Literature (HL), AP Biology, AP Psychology, Jazz Band (Honors)
Senior year Courses: AP Calculus BC, IB Music (HL), IB English Year 2: Literature (HL), AP Music Theory, AP Spanish Language and Culture, Jazz Band (Honors)
SATs: I’m a solid test taker, but not extraordinary, and not high enough for NU or JHU; 680 CR+W, 610 math for a total of 1290 on the New SAT; just took October’s SAT’s and felt extremely confident on the math, so I’m looking for improvement in that area.
EC’s (brief summary):
Golf-4 years, member of varsity team junior and senior year, qualified for individual state championship (10,11,12)
Swimming-3 years (senior year I’m focusing on college auditions)
Jazz band-4 years, Premier jazz combo-4 years; lead alto saxophone or split lead alto for all 4 years, helped lead jazz band and jazz combo to 2016 state title with the best overall score in the state in their respectable divisions, three-time recipient of outstanding musicianship awards
Regional wind ensemble: principal saxophonist junior and senior year, featured soloist junior and senior year
Named to the All-State Jazz Band as 2nd alto sax (9th and 10th) and named to the All-State Honors Jazz Band as lead alto sax (11th), auditions for senior year have not happened yet
Named to All-State Band; tied for 3rd (9th), 2nd (10th and 11th), auditions have not happened for 12th
Named to District band for all years so for and to District Honors Jazz as lead alto for two years so far
Lead alto of a credible jazz ensemble that plays for Nursing homes and community events (community service)
Recipient of the Yale Book Award (11th)
Recipient of the Academic Excellence Award (11th)
Recipient of Bronze Medal on the National Spanish Exam (10th)
National Spanish Honor Society member (10th, 11th, 12th)
National Honor Society member (11th, 12th)
