<p>So I am thinking maybe he should use the gifted musician angle when applying to great schools that are NOT known for music, but do have a music program, such as Tulane, Occidental, or Reed. (Applying as a music major to Oberlin, Rochester, etc., he won’t stand out). Will that give him an edge?</p>
<p>Tove, we live in an urban school district, and our arts magnet is a school where the artistically gifted grads go on to decent art and music schools, but academically gifted kids are a rarity. Most of them go to MLK or Hume-Fogg, the academic magnets. The majority of the grads from his high school go to really small, less competitive schools like Tennessee State, Cumberland U (TN), UT-C, etc. My son changed horses mid-stream from music to law. That’s fine, the high school is still a good fit for him but he just has to work harder to get the education he needs. One kid got into Vanderbilt (not Blair) from his school last year, but she was exceptional. We do have kids get into Blair from time to time. DS does not want to go there, he wants to leave TN, although we have spoken to the admissions officer at length there and she thinks he has a shot. What can I say, Vandy is an awesome school but you can see it from our porch…</p>
<p>Luck, when it comes to standardized tests, my son has so much anxiety that I think the structure is worth the $$$. Kaplan has this all-inclusive package that for $1000 gives him unlimited access to help on every test, repeatedly, until he graduates high school, including SAT IIs and AP. Since the school he goes to is so horrible academically, I thought it was worth it so he could have the extra help on those latter tests. Historically students at his school don’t do well on them.</p>