Hi, I’m a senior female from a small, decent public school in New Jersey, trying to assess my chances and make the most of ED/EA possibilities. My short list for the November 1 deadline include Yale, Columbia, and Brown.
My resume:
– ACT 35 (36 math, reading, English, 30 on science, 9/12 on writing section)
– SAT 1490 (730 math, 760 reading) (Yale insists on seeing this if I send the SAT II, but probably won’t send this score if applying to the others)
– SAT II 790 (math II)/800 literature
– AP exams: calculus AB, English/lang, music theory, biology: all 5s
– will have taken nine honors and nine AP courses by the end of high school
– GPA weighted 4.64 (out of 4.3?); got nearly all A+ grades junior year
Class president sophomore year
Class secretary junior year
Co-president Spanish Outreach Club (leads citizenship classes for underserved immigrants in urban NJ)
Model UN (four years; staff member of one-day conference junior year; best delegate award at one-day conference sophomore year)
Piano – lessons for 10 years, silver ranking in Golden Key Festival (led to Carnegie Hall performance); classical and jazz instruction. Member of a salsa band that has professionally recorded an album.
Pit Crew for school musicals as keyboardist, grades 10-12
Pep band, mallets, grades 11-12
Volunteering:
50 hours in a Nicaragua Summer Exchange program
Assistant teacher at Piano Summer Camp one summer
Citizenship class (as mentioned earlier) for grades 11-12
Other:
Lunch Bunch, grades 9-11 (group ended this year)
-^^ Eating lunch with special ed peers once a week
Summer:
Nicaragua Summer Exchange, 2015
Berklee College of Music 2-week Performance Program, 2016
Peabody Conservatory Piano Week, 2017
Honors:
National Honors Society
National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist (I won’t find out if I am a finalist until later in the year)
It's important to me that whatever college I go to has a strong music program, which is part of why I like Yale for its BA/MM program. However, I am trying to maximize my chances of admission and I know that Yale (or Columbia or Brown) are long shots for anyone. I also know that regular decision acceptance rates are much lower in many colleges, and I'm trying to plan for the next round if necessary.
Thanks for any advice.