My chances for Yale, Harvard, Columbia?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am a senior at a top “specialized” high school in NYC, Stuyvesant High School.

I have impressive extracurriculars in that I am a trained classical pianist and composer in a selective pre-conservatory level program with competition awards, performances of my compositions, summer music festivals/programs, etc. I do not have huge breadth, and in terms of hours per week it’s not that impressive, but I have great depth. I will of course be submitting extensive music supplements to schools I apply to, including video/recordings, musical scores, a resume, and a rec from a teacher. I will also be applying separately to conservatories.

I am the founder of a charity organization that arranges classical concerts for senior centers across the city. (ByHeartNY.com)

My father is a Yale alumnus but has not been a donor, so that may not make a difference.

I have 2360 SAT (no superscore) and a 740 and 780 on Math I and Lit SAT IIs. I am enrolled in 3 AP courses now (Latin, English, and Government), was enrolled in 2 last year (APUSH, English), and 1 the year before that (Euro history). I also took AP Music Theory in eighth grade and scored a 5, although I was not formally in an AP course because it was middle school. I’ve scored 5, 5, and 4 on the other three AP tests I’ve taken so far,

I am a national merit semi-finalist and will obviously be applying for finalist status. I am also a member of the National Honors Society.

I have a 94.3 GPA (also realize i go to a specialized, selective school with classes that would in other schools be considered honors level).

I interned at an Architecture/engineering firm this past summer as part of another demonstrated interest, architecture. I have taken/am enrolled in drafting, interior design, and architecture, at my school.

I am a strong writer and am confident my essay(s) will be top-notch.

2

Also note: my school has no official class ranking.

3

You seem like a strong applicant given the depth of your music. Are you intended to pursue this in your college studies? If not, what are your long term interests?

@gibby is far and away the best person to advise on your situation coming from Stuyvesant and looking at Harvard and Yale.

4

No one can chance you (or anyone else who asks these questions). Apply and you will know when decisions come in. Your best crystal ball will be the Naviance data for Stuy.

5

I certainly intend to pursue music seriously in college, although to what exact degree I can’t say for sure.

I figure of the three, Yale makes the most sense because it is most known for its exceptional music program.

I’ve checked naviance and while it places me within the zone of possibility, for sure, it is scary because of the sheer number of applicants rejected. In addition, I know that students from my school apply EA to Yale in DROVES. I am, however, not the typical stuyvesant student in that I am not STEM focused.

6

Since you are not persuing STEM, I think you have better chance for those schools than other applicants in the field of music (though I am assuming that music field do not expect from you too much strength in math. But I may be wrong!), So you should be fine . Work on essays and other thinks which you have still control over.