<p>The OP's daughter is interested in UC's -- the top ones will expect a rigorous senior year -- they are more merit-based and definitely not the "crap shoot" that Harvard, Yale, Princeton seem to be for many students; also, the UC's value grades and rigor of program (courses exceeding the required courses) far more than SAT scores; they are interested in extracurricular activities, but not at all to the same extent as some of the top private schools (I've known kids who have gotten into Cal with very few extracurricular activities but with high grades in an academically rigorous program) -- except for the Regents' Scholars, who are often the same kids who also get into Harvard, Brown, etc.; there is no getting around it. UCD lists the kind of activities that they give points for, for "leadership" -- being in a club is not one of them; for music, you have to be a principal or band leader to earn points...this list is available on the Internet and is a good guide for what the UC's look for (even the ones that use "holistic" review). The music activities listed by the OP are overlapping (3 choruses) and most high school chorus and jazz programs are fairly mediocre -- is it worth taking three of them? Along with a preprofessional youth orchestra?</p>