<p>Hello, I am applying to JMU this Winter and I was wondering how I stack up? And also if me applying to the Music School will increase my chances where I lack academically.</p>
<p>GPA - 3.03 W
1900 SAT
7 AP Courses Senior Year
4 AP Courses Junior Year
Various 1st place piano competition awards
Various music leadership positions
Roanoke Youth Symphony 1st chair trumpet and piano
Founder of my high school's Philosophy Club
Grades improve end of Sophomore year into Junior
Debate Team
Very musically talented and motivated
Minority</p>
<p>I had a meeting with the professor of Piano, and he told me that I'm basically in to the music school, so I know that isn't a problem. But will my grades pull me back down?</p>
<p>If they really want you for music, that will make up for the academics. S has a good friend at JMU who was one of the top students in the state on his instrument, but did not have good grades in HS. I don’t know what his GPA was, but he was not even in the top half of his class. Nevertheless, he was able to get into JMU on the strength of his music.</p>
<p>This is a case where you should talk to the admission folks in the music school at JMU. They can tell you what role academics will play in the admission process.</p>
<p>I believe at JMU you have to be admitted to both the music department and the school. I’m sure there are some mystical forces at work and if you are the best player they have heard on your instrument then the guidelines for academics could be bent. However, I don’t believe in most cases that happens. JMU does have high academic standards and your GPA is on the low side. I remember them telling us that many musically qualified students do get turned away for this very reason. I would call the admissions office and talk to them and see if you can get a feel on what they think of your GPA.</p>
<p>The student mentioned in my previous post was not accepted at other popular universities in the state, presumably because of his less than stellar academics, so he was extremely fortunate that the music department at JMU clearly had significant influence in his case. But again, he was a very strong candidate for his instrument.</p>
<p>Well, in regards to my skill as a musician, I have been playing for about 2 years, and am already read to move on to college-level repertoire. As I listed, I have won many competitions, and a meeting with the professor of piano last Spring yielded very good results. He was very impressed with my playing, and i think I have HIS approval. I just didn’t really start even trying in school until I began playing piano, but by then my GPA had already suffered a crippling blow. But I feel as if I have made a transformation of myself and I think I can handle it.</p>