I am an incoming senior at my high school…really looking to apply ED to Columbia University. However, I think that my extracurricular situation is a little unique in that I’ve devoted nearly all of my time to two activities - vocal music and theater. I’m two-time President of my school’s chapter of the International Thespian Society and am involved with all of the school plays in some capacity or another (included being selected to play a principal role in our state show, <i>Seussical the Musical</i>. Theater & Thespians combined can rake up about 30-35 hour weeks for the majority of the year (there is basically no off-season.) I also compete at the regional and state level - this year I’ll be competing in the Utah Shakespearean Festival as well. As far as vocal music goes, I’m also extremely involved, being a part of the 4-person Worship Team at my church, as well as chosen for Sop. Section Leader for the District Honor Choir, All-State Solo & Ensemble, etc. In addition, I take music and dance lessons outside of class.
My problem is that although my activities take up a lot of time, none of them are activities that showcase intellectual capability. I also have very little community service. (On a side note - my school is not affluent by any means, as it is virtually a dumping ground for former OP kids. I believe that out of the 300 or some-odd seniors we had this year, a little over 2/3 of them were eligible to graduate. And out of those, I saw exactly six white robes at the ceremony - kids that had completed requirements for Honors diplomas.) Will this drastically cut my chances for admission?
P.S. - I plan on continuing these activities in college.
<p>Your extracurriculars are great. The saying goes that colleges want a well rounded class not well rounded students. You meet this fully and completely, which is awesome.</p>
<p>Going to a poor school is not necesarrily a detriment to your chances. But, if you aren't ranked really high, it will hurt you really bad, for how many kids can a mediocre school send to say Columbia...</p>
<p>Stam, I'm ranked number 1 in a class of about three hundred. However, I know that's not impressive at all to Ivy League colleges when I have two B's on my transcript (I assume that's not typical for a val..) Haven't taken SATs yet...</p>
<p>sailorseraph, when you read that colleges are looking for commitment and "passion" you're just the kind of kid they're talking about. Your involvement in theater and music is an extremely strong EC; don't give it another thought. Of course, theater will "showcase intellectual capability." Any school that has a strong theater department would understand that.</p>
<p>I can certainly appreciate your interest in Columbia because of its location in the Big Apple, but it's not one that comes to mind for either theater or music. (I may be wrong on that.)</p>
<p>What other schools are you looking at? NYU, Yale, Vassar? If you are female Smith or Barnard. Have you considered Williams? They are aggressively recruiting theater/music/dance kids.</p>
<p>Whoa...2 B's isn't that bad at all, even for a valedictorian. For example, at my school it varies year to year how many B's the valedictorian has had and their grade point average- last year the guy got no B's and ended up with a 4.38, this year's valedictorian (me) got 4 B's and a 4.36. So, seriously, 2 b's is nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>Momrath, I'm a female, looking at possibly BU, GWU, NYU. I'll be visiting both NYU and Columbia in August to get a feel for them. I don't plan to major in either vocal music or theater, but pursue them extensively outside of my concentration (and take plently of electives). My major will probably be either English or Poli Sci - hence my attraction to Columbia, which has very strong programs in both areas as well as has the advantage of being in a city in which I will definitely have access to the arts. I have heard good things by way of this website in terms of Columbia's theater and music programs, but I'm primarily attracted to its academic strength.</p>
<p>Your ec's will show that you are passionate about a certain thing, but I don't know how much that will help if you aren't majoring in theatre or music. I'm almost in the same boat as you. I really don't have any ec's besides bands, choirs, and theatre, but I'm planning to major in musical theatre. You might want to consider a minor in theatre, if you're that passionate about it, but I think your ecs should be fine nonetheless, especially since you're number 1 in your class.</p>