I have been playing the violin for well over 10 years of my life. I am extremely proficient in it, and am proud of my accomplishments with it over the years. How well would this play on my college admissions?
<p>you are very talented on the violin. no one can deny that.</p>
<p>the problem when it comes to college admissions is, there are many others just like you... or even better. that's the harsh reality of it.</p>
<p>because (good) violin players are overrepresented in college applicant pools, it's not much of an advantage.</p>
<p>however, you could turn your experience into a good college essay.</p>
<p>Gary King what are your accomplishments?
What piece are you working on now?</p>
<p>Heck, being a great musician doesn't even definitely get you into many conservatories. But I do think it shows dedication and well-roundedness, as well the ability to think abstractly and quickly. You should definitely include any awards on your application.</p>
<p>It probably won't have much of an effect if you're not at the All-State level, and even if you are, it will have some bearing but...it's just one common extracurricular (most of the people who play music and apply to ivy league are already at all state level).</p>
<p>Of course, if you've won like national awards or something, that'll have a pretty big impact</p>
<p>I have also been active in music for the past 12 years. I, of course, entered this in my ECS but I have no idea whether or not it made a difference as I don't plan on pursuing a career in music.</p>
<p>sorry but i couldn't go un-commenting....</p>
<p>.. nycstudent578, no offense... but it's not </p>
<p>"I don't plan on"</p>
<p>... it's </p>
<p>"I don't plan to"... i learned it studying SAT... it's always</p>
<p>plan to, not plan on...</p>
<p>.. just thought you might wanna know~</p>
<p>(by the way, yes, this is my second time commenting, for those of you counting...)</p>
<p>Godz--that's what I get for doing two or three things at the same time--thanks for the correction.</p>
<p>godz, I doubt anyone would find your comment to NOT be helpful :) Especially with some people worrying 24/7 about the SATs, I myself, and I am sure others feel the same way, that being corrected (as long as the correction itself is correct) is fine, and even helpful :)</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>Do all states have an ALL-State Orchestra</p>
<p>i think so</p>
<p>Does not qualifying for all state mean that music isn't a sufficient hook to use? I got a 98/100 and the solo festival that would qualify me (i'm a trumpet player), but I needed a perfect score to qualify. obviously, there isn't THAT much of a difference between a 100 and a 98 (I just messed up the sight reading). So because I didn't crescendo in one spot in an excerpt I had never seen before, I'm suddenly not worth it? this sucks because I'm trying to use music as my hook, but apparently it's not quite good enough. Or maybe the standards are different for violin players, who are a dime a dozen.</p>
<p>Forgive me for ranting, but seriously, this is what I hate about this website: Every time I come on here the fact is constantly reinforced that I'm not quite good enough, I think I need to take a break from this whole college admissions thing for a while, it has the potential to drive me insane, haha, okay, proceed...</p>
<p>jmarsh - I think you need to step back a bit and try and gain a different perspective. Looking for college is not a competive sport. Your goal is to find a school that will provide an education and an environment that will help you meet your goals. You don't need a "hook" to get into college. You only need that if you set your sights way too high. If you make realistic choices when you apply, your record will speak for itself. </p>
<p>When it comes to ECs colleges want students who show long term interest and committment. Music usually does that for students. Making all state orchestra won't give you much of an edge. Having kids who are musicians, I think the only ones who can really use music as a hook are those who are nationally competitive. That doesn't mean your music is not good enough. It just means that it probably won't likely give you an added push. </p>
<p>When you apply, show off your accomplishments as a musician in whatever way you can. Do you take lessons? Play in a youth or community band or orchestra? Teach little kids? Play in wind brass chamber group? All those things can help to highlight your interest and committment. </p>
<p>Lastly, broaden your search. If all you do is focus on highly competitive schools in the northeast, you will be limiting yourself when you may not need to. There are a lot of great schools out there who would probably love to have a student just like you!</p>
<p>jmarsh,
I can tell you that in PA, participation in All-State music groups (band, chorus, orchestra, jazz band, jazz chorus, etc) is the culmination of competitions sponsored by PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educators Association). Students apply at school and are recommended to audition for the District group. Once at District, they audition for chair position. Then the top chairs go to Regional and audition for position within that group. Those top Regional chairs go on to All-State, where they again audition for position. I think PA has 12 districts. </p>
<p>The only way brass, winds and percussion can get into the orchestra group is to be one of the top (four?) musicians in the Honors Band in their district. Audition for our Honors Band is by "cattle call" audition, and many hundreds of students audition for it from about 4pm to 10pm. </p>
<p>Anyone who is interested in this process should check to see if their state music educators sponsor the events. They are really fun for the kids and gives them a chance to build poise and confidence for performing.</p>
<p>I live in Michigan and we have an Honors Orchestra where selection is based on the solo and ensemble program. Basically to get in you had to score a 96/100. Is this considered ALl-State?</p>
<p>Lakers, I'm not sure, my state (New York) as has different levels of honors bands. at least in my area there's All-county, Area all State (comprising of students from roughly Binghamton to Syracuse) and Conference all state (the whole state). </p>
<p>All County's not that hard to get into, Area All State has three groups: you need at least 92/100 at solo festival for concert band, 96/100 for symphonic band, and I'm not postive but probably a perfect score for orchestra (on trumpet anyway). </p>
<p>I'm in youth symphony too and I take lessons and do some paid performances in the area, I guess I was overreacing before, but I really want to go to Cornell, and I feel like my ec's are never sufficent for getting into a top school. It seems like everyone on this site has 'national recognition."</p>
<p>If i see one more person say "I'm nationally recognized in violn/debate/soccer/karate", I'm going to lose my mind. I come from a small, not very competitive high school where less than half of graduates go to four year schools, and I have no idea how anyone even goes about having an EC on the national level, and I'm so tired of hearing people brag about it and be like "Gee, wll I have any chance at all at Harvard/Yale/whatever, here are my ecs, I'm nationally recognized in all of them, and I aced the SATs to boot, have I sufficiently bragged enough and made all the readers of this thread feel like scum?" This doesn't apply to any of you, in fact you're all very nice, so no one take any of this personally, i'm just in a self pitying mood today, I'm sure it'll pass.</p>
<p>okay, I'm taking a break from CC for a few days, it's probably the healthiest thing to do...</p>
<p>Yes, there are lots of overachievers and very involved parents here! Reading CC can be very informative, but sometimes it makes me feel so completely average and invisible! I know just what you mean!</p>