<p>Purely anecdotally, it seems that highly qualified students who are also highly talented musicians (e.g., were on From the Top, won prizes, went to Aspen and other top festivals while in high school), have success at Yale, Harvard, Princeton. There are lots of highly qualified students, and musical talent can make the difference if you are one of them. The students I know who were admitted to these schools played piano, violin, cello – nothing unusual in that respect.</p>