Harvard, Yale, Or Princeton

For a competitive applicant like you, I don’t believe that you need more than two safeties. Real safeties would include places such as your state school (depending on your state), University of Wisconsin, Clemson, etc.

Unlike some of the other posters in this thread, I think you’d have a fairly easy time getting into BU, UVA, and Michigan. UVA and Michigan tend to favor OOS students who have very high stats (which you do). To get into an Ivy or any school in the top 20, your ECs and essays need to be fantastic. Your passion for music will definitely help. I suggest writing your essays about WHY you love music as well as how it affects your life and studies. Also, you should look into sending in music supplements and contacting music directors in every reach you apply to, especially the one you end up applying early to. I seem to recall that there was a student who established contact with a member of the music faculty at Princeton, and she ended up being accepted.

Thank you for all this advice.

I will definitely update my safety list to a school with an acceptance rate of 50%>.

However, the main point of this thread is to find out which school to apply to early. Please don’t tell me that I’m wasting my EA on HYP; my transcript, scores, and ECs are enough that I would be at least considered and not immediately rejected.

Does anyone know of the undergrad experience of any of these places where the students enter undecided? Or department advantages among these three schools? Also, transitioning to grad school? And lastly, the campus vibe and campus location?

Again, all advice is greatly appreciated and thank you for taking the time to respond.

OK, so:

  • On location, you favor Harvard
  • On housing you favor Yale
  • On campus size and a part of academic fit (undergrad focus), you favor Princeton
  • On social vibe, maybe you favor Yale (the res colleges are a part of that...) and Princeton (you have friends there).

If those are the fit variables that are important to you, rank all three schools on those. Make sure you add Cost as a variable too – use NPC to find out what your COA might be.

And even SCEA, these are reaches or low reaches – 10-20% chance…ish… if I had to guess. So, as others have said, you definitely need to develop a list including maybe a couple more reaches, a lower reach or two, some actual matches, and at least one safety.

Judge them all according to the fit variables you’ve identified – and cost. Only apply to schools you like and can afford.

Finally – reiterating what others have said:

  • Cornell and Northwestern are not matches in any galaxy, and Michigan might be a match or a high match for in-state superstars, but not for anyone OOS -- maybe low reach/high match for OOS superstars.
  • And BU and UVA -- not safeties. More like a match and a high match (OOS), respectively.

For safeties, you’re looking for schools with at least a 40% admit rate (the higher, the safer), where your stats are at or above the 75th percentile for last year’s class.

Cornell is NOT a match. UVA is not a safety; at best, it’s a match.

UMich is not a match for OOS. It may be a very high match. The OOS admission rate is near 20% and they have rejected many students with similar stat like OP. Just search this forum in the past and you will see.

I think the OP gets the idea about his reaches, matches, and safeties.

The undergraduate experience at Princeton is the best, followed by Yale and then Harvard. This is largely due to how Princeton does not have a strong graduate focus, so the professors dedicate their time more towards undergraduates.

In terms of grade inflation/deflation and general competitiveness once your there, I’m sure all three are about equal. Maybe Harvard has slightly more grade inflate than the two others, but I’m not sure.

Social life is vastly different at each. Princeton has Eating Clubs, Yale has residential colleges, and Harvard has Final Clubs. Yale and Harvard are more urban, while Princeton has more of a campus-y vibe with a quaint town.

@jsmith217 - understand you have decided to do EA in one of the HYP - great. Suggest you review the decisions threads on CC, review stats about EA acceptance rates, etc., and also consider which of the three you will be able to relate to better in your application and go for it.

@doorrealthe Thank you for that helpful insight! That’s exactly what I was looking for.

Your list of matches, safeties, and reach schools is really unrealistic. I would say all of those schools are reaches, except UVA might be a match.

@collegeboundprogrammer BU is not a reach.

Yale has a great music program. I think that if you want to apply with cello as your focus, come up with a list of your cello accomplishments. Are you nationally ranked? Because people that apply to those schools, many of them are nationally ranked cellists. My friend was accepted into Yale, Brown, and UPenn this year and she’s number one in the nation for cello. There’s a lot of competition.

@sliu412 does she go to juilliard pre ?

Well, from your post it seems you have very good foundational stats (scores, grades) but don’t have standout ECs. I play 2 instruments and have been to Carnegie numerous times (at least 7 or 8), but I know it definitely won’t get me into college. I don’t think relying on music is a good idea UNLESS you are national level (ie NAFME, top summer programs…you said you got into Tanglewood which is very competitive for piano I know, Idk about cello though…) and have intentions of majoring in music in some way shape or form.

I definitely know people who were admitted to top schools for music who basically only did music and were good students overall…but those students won tons of concerto comps, orch comps that a fairly mediocre musician like I am would never think about entering. And I have won golds at competitions that are international…the auditions were here in the US but students came from China, Indonesia, Philippines, Russia, Ukraine etc.
Top admits were all-Eastern concertmasters/principals or even National concertmasters/principals. They taught music to special needs children or low income children or privately. They go to conservatories or top dual-degree programs such as Vandy, Northwestern, JHU/Peabody, Oberlin…

All 3 schools have very musical populations. Probably I’d say Yale is the most musical but all have very good musicians. I think you should just go with your gut, you’re not binded to any of them. Your chances are not super good for any of them, but no one’s are, so it doesn’t really matter anyways!

Good Luck!

She doesn’t.

While your cello playing is unique, it might not stand out to admissions officers at HYP, or even your other match schools. A lot of the other applicants have similar stats and could have so many more EC’s, as well as potentially having the same, or more, cello experience. When looking at applying to these prestigious schools, think about what you would specifically add to the campus that nobody else can. And try to accentuate that as much as possible in your application.

Here are some other suggestions:
UW-Madison
Northeastern
Tulane
NYU

You have little to no chance of getting in any of these colleges, instead focus on colleges that you have a shot in. Perhaps a few reach school but definitely don’t expect to get into harvard or yale because that is too risky. Ofcourse everyone wants to go to princeton,harvard and yale but what are the chances my child? Instead try schools like UVA, which you have a shot in getting into. Also do a couple safety schools

I don’t know why people say you have “ no chance.” That’s ridiculous. My son is currently at Harvard, similar stats, good musician, went to NEC prep, no international blah blah or rankings (I don’t even know what that MEANS). He has several excellent musician friends, all in the HRO, Some in the Brattle Street Chamber Players, also with similar stats, a couple from Juilliard pre-college, a couple others from similar programs to Juilliard/ NEC Saturday programs. Of course it’s certainly a long shot, because it is for everyone, just because of the low percentages of admits. But do your best, send a music supplement, have good letters and write a great essay, and you WILL have a shot—just, again, a long shot. By the way, the Harvard House system is identical to theYale residential colleges, set up originally by the same donor, same time, modeled after Oxford and Cambridge. You can private message me if you have specific questions. Good luck.

UVa is not noted for its instrumental music.

Since the original post was in May, the OP has already submitted EA to one of his desired schools, whichever that may be.