Hi there! This is my first time posting on CC and I was wondering if I could get some insight from any of you music-minded folk. After practicing my butt off for nearly six months prior, I was accepted to NYO-USA as a violinist last week and I am super excited. I, like so many others on this site, aspire to go to a highly selective college (ex. Stanford, Harvard, Yale, etc.) and am planning to apply as some sort of engineering major with possibly a music minor or plans to join the college orchestra or other ensembles. I am a junior with most of my ECs pretty much locked down and nothing drastic will change on my application till I start applying. For privacy reasons let’s just assume my SAT, grades and other ECs are up to par for top colleges, how much will NYO help my chances for admission (if at all since I am not sure AOs will even know what it is)?
@compmom is the most helpful for this, I would suggest putting this in the music forum. NYO is an amazing accomplishment, CONGRATS! and yes, AOs will absolutely know what this is!
It’s a terrific accomplishment and congratulations!
But you also need to know…a very large number of very accomplished musicians apply to these elite colleges every year.
Will you be sending a music supplement to the colleges that will accept one?
@parentologist is another poster who can comment on this.
You can post this in the music major forum, yes.
Submit a music supplement with recording/video, music resume and letter(s) of recommendation related to music, if accepted by the school. This can certainly be helpful but we don’t know much else about your commitment to music and other things you would bring to a campus.
Why do you want those particular colleges? If you want engineering, make sure your schools are a good fit. MIT might be a good option, and look at Tufts too.
I recall noticing when I was an undergraduate at MIT that MIT had a relatively decent student orchestra for a university that students are unlikely to go to specifically with the intention to major in music. The reason that I was told was that there is quite a significant overlap between people who are good in music and people who are good in math and engineering. I have more recently noticed the same correlation in multiple other situations. This would suggest that being good at music has at least been true for some students who go to top engineering schools.
To me your success in music also seems consistent with the theme of the “applying sideways” blog on the MIT admissions web site. The point if the blog is that the best way to get to a university that is both highly ranked and a good fit for you is to do what you want to do, and do it very well. It sounds to me as if this is exactly what you did.
I think that this is a good EC.
Of course you need to also apply to safeties, and you need to take your budget into account. Engineering is a very employable major (at least for most forms of engineering). I do agree with another comment that Harvard and Yale are surprising choices for an engineering major. Both are however very good for music, and both are ABET accredited for at least some forms of engineering.
A wild thought also occurred to me. Of course MIT would be a reach. However, it is excellent for engineering, and if a student goes there for engineering (or for anything else) they are permitted to take classes at Harvard and Wellesley College, both of which have some very good music courses.
This is huge. No one gets into NYO for violin by practicing hard for six months, or even six years, on violin. They get into NYO by practicing steadily and hard for over a decade, and having talent, and having excellent teachers. But mostly, it’s practicing.
I’m assuming that you got into NYO 1, but even NYO 2 is a big accomplishment, and if it was NYO 2, you still might get into NYO 1 for next year, in time for it to matter for RD applications. If it is NYO 1 this year, even better. Congratulations!
Do you attend the leading youth conservatory, or play in the leading youth orchestra, in your area? If you haven’t, and there is a prestigious one near you, audition for it this spring for senior year. Admissions committees for top schools like seeing that as an activity, and even though you’ll only be in it for one year (if you haven’t been doing it already), you’ll still have that name on your application.
The reason that so many students at the leading colleges in the US are also accomplished musicians is obvious. It takes many, many hours of intensive, persistent work to become proficient at playing an instrument. If you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, you know about his theory that it basically takes 10,000 hours of hard work at something to become a master of it. A thousand hours puts one at the journeyman’s level of proficiency. An hour a day since your were in early elementary school, probably two hours a day a times since you were in early adolescence, maybe more. It’s very likely that you have spent over 5000 hours already, and possibly as much as 10,000 hours, practicing violin, to get to your level.
Colleges realize that the drive and dedication that it takes to achieve as an instrumentalist is transferable to high level academic work. It’s one thing to be an A student in high school. It’s quite another thing to be an A student while having simultaneously achieved at a high level on a musical instrument. It’s not just that they want these kids to play in the school orchestra. It’s that they realize that these kids have a long track record of consistent high level achievement that is very likely to continue.
If your grades and SATs and letters are good, and you have some sort of charitable EC, and maybe some EC that shows some other interest, you’re golden. Harvard in particular prides itself on its excellent music ensembles. Their symphony is probably the best college symphony in the nation that is not a conservatory symphony or at an institution with a school of music. But many of the other high level schools will be interested in you too, for the reason that I mentioned above.
You cannot count 100% on getting in. But your chances are much improved by this accomplishment.
Consider Princeton since they have strong engineering program and with very strong music department (performance certificate and exchange with Royal College of Music). Orchestras at Harvard, Yale and Princeton are comparable and they are always looking for good musicians so that they can keep their orchestras so strong.
You don’t need a charitable EC or EC related to another interest.
Thank you!
Thank you for the insight! Sorry by the comment “six months” I meant practicing for this specific audition for six months prior, I’ve been playing the violin for nearly a decade now 
I was accepted to NYO1 however my sophomore year I tried but didn’t get in, so I’m really glad I didn’t give up! I am in my local orchestra but my city is sorta small and not that musically well known.
Yes, I will send a music supplement!
I am looking for more engineering minded schools, I was simply using those colleges as examples of the low acceptance colleges I am aiming for. Ideally my top choices are MIT and Stanford because they seem to have very innovative minded student bodies and I would like a place with generally a bit more of a startup culture.
I included Tufts as a suggestion, one of many top schools for your interests, if not the most “elite.” Perhaps others can suggest schools for you so that you have a good range for your applications.
A kid in our town who did NYO in the past is going to Stanford, it is definitely a big plus!
Very impressive. You have a very good shot at a highly selective college. Keep the grades high, take challenging courses next year, write your essays from the heart and make sure you are humble and kind. Absolutely no reason to believe you are not, but you would be surprised how many top kids are just not nice people! Best of luck!
Thank you!
You might take a look at this list of colleges that have more alumni with companies getting venture capital (entrepreneurship) if you’re looking for schools with a start-up culture: https://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/dataverse/top-feeders-entrepreneurship.
This is not what I was told by a Harvard professor and alum who also did interviewing in her home country. She said, “Where is the community service? Where is the giving back?” She conveyed to me that this was an important component of the application. I would tend to believe her.
I disagree in a case like this one. Full commitment to music (which does benefit others actually) may be enough, along with academic ability to do well, and good “character” which may be evident from work ethic, working well with others, as described in relevant letters of recommendation.