<p>I swore that I'd never make a post like this, but my own willpower has failed me! I'm applying to Yale SCEA this fall. </p>
<p>Academic Stats
ACT-33
GPA Unweighted-4.0
GPA Weighted 4.188
AP Courses and Scores-US Hist 5, Lit and Comp 5, US Government 5, Physics B 4.
Currently taking 4 more AP courses, have pursued "most rigorous" curriculum
Nat'l Merit SF
NHS Vice President
Awarded scholarship Sophomore year to attend program for students interested in government (100 students selected yearly from my state)
School Stats-Public School in Illinois, Avg ACT-24, 2000 kids</p>
<p>Extracurriculars
Varsity Crew 4 yrs
Varsity Bowling 4 yrs(yes, believe it or not, we have a varsity bowling team)-Team Captain
Young Politician's Club
Lots of Volunteering
Part of "Peer Counseling" program at school
Music Stuff-I've played clarinet and saxophone in seven school musicals over the past four years, study clarinet privately with conductor of local symphony-(He is an eli and is writing me a recommendation), play in youth symphony, top ratings at Solo and Ensemble, toured with international wind ensemble a few years back, Drum Major of school marching band, Principle chair in school wind ensemble/chamber orchestra</p>
<p>Work stuff-My job is rather unique. Since my mom makes jewelry, I have the resources to do glassblowing. I sell my stuff to local stores as well as independent jewelry makers.
Hooks:My dad went to Yale </p>
<p>There are a lot of other random things that I've been involved in over the past four years, but so far I think this is the stuff going on my application. Feedback would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>I have not been contacted by any of the crew coaches at Yale. My guess is that I wouldn't be competitive at the college level (at least not on a varsity team), but I have been both a lightweight rower and a coxen over the past few years. I'm not sure if they "recruit" coxens or not, but to be honest, I'm more interested in pursuing music after high school than rowing. Crew is a lot of fun, and something I enjoy doing, but music is something I absolutely love.(I'm making a recording to send in as supplementary material with my application) In fact, one of the things that draws me towards Yale as opposed to some other schools is the fact that Yale has a music school, which provides a lot of musical opportunities at the undergraduate level.</p>
<p>Since you have an obvious passion (music), that really helps. I too play clarinet and sax (bari) so I hope that the admins look favorably on us musicians!</p>
<p>All and all, I'd say you have a decent shot (and that rec from the alumus helps too!)</p>
<p>Although nothing is for certain at Yale, you're in the running!</p>
<p>As I've posted to others, I'd be wary of sending in a recording unless you are at or near conservatory quality, otherwise it is a waste of time for the music prof at Yale who reviews it. Do you want him to go back to the admissions office and say, "Yeah, he's OK"? You've got to be an exceptional musician for the prof who reviews it so say, "We've got to have this kid instead of letting a conservatory get their hands on him. We must have him on campus." I obviously don't know where you fall on the spectrum. Your resume and awards regarding music speak for themselves as will the letter from your music teacher (that he is an alum in incosequential). You may be a person who should send a recording in, but you should think long and hard about it.</p>
<p>I think that's a really good point, and I've had trouble deciding whether or not to submit this additional recording. At this point, I'm going to go ahead and make the recording, see how well it portrays my ability, and then decide whether or not to submit it. I've asked my teacher how he thinks I would fit in to the musical community at Yale, and he seems to think that I would probably be in the top 5-10% of the clarinetists on campus. </p>
<p>PPS-I was hoping my teacher's alumni status would help my application. I know that he talked about how I would specifically fit in at Yale, and I figured that that's the kind of information that Yale couldn't really get from another source. Why do you think that this won't matter?</p>