Piano CA "Certificate of Merit"

Applying to College
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<p>My middle-school kid is academically talented and like many other parents, we hope he will be admitted to an Ivy or other very good school. He also plays the piano very well, but currently does not participate in the Music Teachers Association of California (mtac.org) Certificate of Merit program. </p>

<p>My question: do admissions officers care about the Certificate of Merit program/competition? Is it worth me finding another piano teacher who does participate in this? Or would similar experiences be just as valuable in the officers' eyes?</p>

<p>Thanks for any advice!</p>

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<p>Good question! You may want to take that to the Music Majors Forum. It’s inside the College Majors Forum. Here is a link:[Music</a> Major - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/]Music”>Music Major - College Confidential Forums)</p>

<p>Even if your child’s goal isn’t musical performance, the people in that forum should have ideas for you.</p>

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<p>Many thanks for the advice, I will also post in that forum! :)</p>

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Hi, my situation is a little different. I have been planning to pursue a Level 10 Certificate of Merit from the MTAC, or Music Teacher’s Association of California. The exam for this constitutes a music theory exam and five memorized pieces, usually more than six pages long. Naturally, this requires at least an hour of practice each day. I am thinking about dropping piano to make room for other extracurriculars. I have played the piano for six years, but I feel that I would rather spend that hour each day working on another extracurricular. How much would this Level 10 certificate help me in terms of applying to colleges (I am not planning to do a music major of any sort.)? By the way, I am very involved with my other activities, so I am not relying on piano to make or break my college app, I just want to know how much weight this test would carry. In addition, I am not lacking in the music department – I also play the clarinet in an orchestra. Thank you so much!

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