I have competed in an international competition, and have only won silver (it was against South Korea). I’m not sure if that’s anything, though. As for the Olympic team, I am not planning to go that far with my Taekwondo career. The Taekwondo Olympic team asks for a lot of time and dedication. And yes, Taekwondo is my passion, but I simply don’t have the time or I might even lack the skill to even make it in the olympic team. Like I said, yes, I am becoming a junior. I need to focus on my studies and SAT’s, not the olympics.
I do suppose Harvard/Columbia camps aren’t that useful, but my teacher did say that if I attended a Columbia camp, they would favor that, so I simply considered it. What kind of camp would be useful though?
As for CTY, I don’t plan to attend again. I did love the bioethics course, and plan to maybe engage in an organization.
My taekwondo master is already planning to provide me a letter as well.
It sounds like you have your priorities clear. Good for you. You don’t need a ton of ECs - it already sounds like you do taekwondo at a very high level, plus some music, art and languages. It sends a positive message that you have put everything you have into teakwondo plus academics, and everything else comes after.
From what you describe, you have been playing 'cello for just over 2 years (end of 8th great to beginning of 11th). I’m not sure how it is possible to get to 1st chair soloist that quickly. What level of repertoire do you currently play? Please be specific.
Columbia summer programs won’t give you any boost for Columbia. As for what kind of camp would be “useful”, that depends on what you are looking for. I wouldn’t personally recommend a summer program simply for the sake of impressing colleges. If there is something that genuinely interests you, that is different. Colleges want to see that you’ve made constructive use of your summer time. Internships, research, getting a job, summer study, and athletic participation are all valid ways of doing this. There’s nothing wrong with going to a summer program at Columbia or Harvard if that is what excites you, but such programs are very expensive, and don’t be deluded that they will give you any advantage.
Just as an aside, for letters of recommendation, more ≠ better. Unless a school specifically prohibits supplementary LOR’s, I would limit it to one extra. Otherwise, you run the risk of diluting your teacher’s and GC’s LOR’s.
I feel like you appear the typical applicant. Low AP scores make adcoms worry of grade inflation at your school and wonder about your GPA (but you need to send them, or they’ll think you got a 0 on both or something). The cello is a nice EC but very typical, the taekwondo is very good, if you’ll be doing things like trying out for the Olympic team. Essentially, the ECs are overall very good but nothing that would get you in alone. Now if you were URM/first gen or double legacy or something then I would say it would be a low reach. With your stats, mid to high reach. Of course, you should still apply. It’s a reach for almost everyone, and you just dont happen to be that 0.001% that will clearly get in.
I am mixed. I am half-Korean and half-Caucasian, but I will be putting down my race as Caucasian because I have grown up and lived in America my entire life, and am purely American.
So I’ve heard. I know one of my older friends got accepted into Harvard a few years ago (he’s now a junior there, but he didn’t do as many things as I did. He is Asian, yes. But the thing is, he only did violin, did well on his studies, and made an organization (using his violin skill) to help raise money.
I have a feeling a lot of it depends on luck as well. But I’m just wondering if I have a chance.
I am currently working on a Dvorak concerto, and I play at a decent level?? I’m not sure. I’ve played Saint-Saens, Faure, Elgar, Popper, Shostakovich, etc. I’m basically working on concertos and etudes.
Of course you have a chance, assuming that you keep your grades up and get competitive scores. Your taekwondo will stand out to some extent. Based on where you are now, you definitely should give it a shot. However, you should also be realistic that competitive applicants have less than a 10% chance at these schools, and you will be competing with many other applicants with accomplishments similar to your own; outside of your taekwondo nothing stands out strongly. A lot may depend on factors outside of your control (“luck”); all you can do is maximize your potential and put together a strong application.
Yeah, but everyone is telling me to just say that I’m Caucasian. I personally disagree with it, but what would I say? Do they have an option for mixed students? I feel that simply putting down ‘caucasian’ would be lying.
I see. So would ONLY checking White be considered lying?
Aside from Ivies, what do you think of the chances of me being accepted to non-Ivies, but very well-established schools? (Ex: Stanford, NYU, Carnegie-Mellon, Rice University, etc.)
@anxnymous, thank you for the details. Wow, that is impressive! If you are playing the Elgar / Saint-Saens concertos at anything close to a passable level then you are quite advanced. You are obviously very talented. If you are playing the Dvorak Concerto going into the 11th grade and can play it decently then you are close to conservatory level. To be able to do those things after less than 3 years is amazing, assuming you can play then at all passably. Which Shostakovich piece are you playing - the sonata or the concerto? The concerto is ridiculously hard. If you can play that decently with so little experience, then you are a prodigy.
It’s hard to say for certain without hearing you play, but assuming that you are playing at this level in such a short time, the combination of your music proficiency and your taekwondo is doubly impressive, and could definitely stand out. If this is the case, I would consider applying to major summer music festivals next summer. Those would be much more impressive than paying to go to Columbia or Harvard summer school, and would help clarify the level of your ability. You might want to talk to your teacher or orchestra director about possible programs, and also think about submitting a music supplement. But if I were you I would consider something like the Tanglewood summer music festival:
Interlochen might be another option. There are plenty of others. But if you solidify your music background, in combination with your martial arts background, and you get competitive test scores and continue to do well in terms of GPA, then you have a decent chance of standing out.
I’m not going to use that word, although others might. Say you’re mixed race or omit it altogether. The challenge with saying you’re white, even if that is how you’ve identified for ~17 years, is you cannot be certain that there is not some other piece of paper from the school, College Board, or in your recommendations that does not say that you are half Korean.
Personally, I really doubt that any college rejections you may potentially get along they way would have been acceptances if you were not half Korean. But that’s just an opinion.
I hate chance threads, and usually avoid them. Nobody here knows what your chances are because none of us work in an admissions office. Aside from that, as I said earlier, you have no standardized test scores, which are a key component. The best I can tell you at this point is that you are on the right track. Good luck.
I think @renaissancedad has given you some pretty great advice. Keep focusing on the two things you obviously love and take them to the highest level you can. Good luck!
