Some colleges and universities do have stellar performance opportunities (and some are near opportunities outside of school). Naturally, those opportunities can be assumed at a conservatory/school of music, but they can be found at an LAC or university as well, just takes a little more checking 
Of course, at a small school, orchestra might happen in the community, but the school might still have wonderful ensemble work.
Scubaski,
I am glad to hear she is a happy healthy kid. You want to keep the focus on that!!! I only write what I write from experience. I have seen one too many highly intelligent overachievers fall down and sadly that fall can indeed lead to a very dark place. Another important skill to teach her is solitude. If you have a kid who is always on the go make sure you teach them how to be alone and how to be bored. Again this is another one of those odd skills that can sometimes get lost in the achievement culture we have and the result is a young adult who only feels comfortable when they are engaged, scheduled and being instructed as to what to do.
A lot can change in the next few years. Spring of her Junior year you can start visiting schools and hopefully she will be your guide as to where and what she wants to do. At this point I would just enjoy watching her bloom and continue being her support.
One other caveat, in addition to burn-out possibility, about wanting to double degree or double major AND pursue competitive sports is that there’s simply no time left for anything else in college. College offers many rich experiences that one will remember for the rest of one’s life beyond music, study and sports. So, apart from the question of whether a kid can handle all the given tasks, this is something else to think about.
And part of that rich experience includes socializing. Some of our best memories probably come from crazy experiences with our crazy college friends…and that only happens once in a life time if we are lucky. And that doesn’t even touch on romance. Every college student should have a little time for romance (and many say they don’t). What could be more basic, important and life-changing than that.
Just wanted to report back to this thread that my daughter met with Peabody/John Hopkins admissions director and he told her all about the Double Degree programs there. He was extremely informative and she’s really interested in this school. She hopes to attend a clinic/camp there - maybe Peabody BassWorks - does anyone on this forum know of it? Or perhaps one of the John Hopkins science/research camps this summer.
Scubaski1,
If your daughter is interested in the John Hopkin’s science/research camps then I strongly suggest you look into SEA and their high school programs. www.SEA.edu I do not work for the program. But I am friends with many alums who are my age (mid -late 50s) and my middle son (a Phd candidate in mathematical biology) is an alum. My son attended the high school program, the college semester and then worked for the program as well. The program was instrumental in helping our son sort out his path as he too had a passion for science, art and music. I helped a young woman who was struggling with her interests in both art and science get accepted to the college program her Senior year of college and she said it really changed her life. I can not express how powerful the SEA experience is. It is unique because it combines an intense outdoor experience with exposure to different cultures and environments and also provides opportunity for students to do real research and science. The ships are staffed by multi-age adults so students live and work with professors, graduate students and college students, which also helps because there is plenty of time to have those major talks that one needs to have about how to sort out and navigate this complex world.
Thank you StacJip for this info. We will definitely look into SEA.
The fit at Oberlin will be important. It is possible for a conservatory only student to somewhat insulate themselves from the very progressive nature of the student body. However, even a conservatory only student takes at least 25% of classes in the college. In addition, the college and conservatory share dorms and dining facilities. A dual degree student is fully immersed in the college as well as the conservatory. All that being said, I agree with dramasopranomom that Oberlin should be visited before being written off.
First, I agree with StacJip - be careful. She is still young.
This will not be popular, but I will say it anyway. I think your daughter should cast the net wide. Clearly she is a great musician and a stellar student, but her scores - AP and SAT - are not that strong, esp. if you are looking at schools like Harvard and Princeton. I think they will be a liability. I would focus on getting the scores up for those schools. Unless something has changed, I think you need to get into Harvard, Hopkins, Columbia etc. separately and then get into NEC/Peabody. I do know kids who got into the music schools, but not into the partners b/c of scores.
I think NU which is v. strong academically and will take students into the music school with less than stellar scores (and then you can get into the other colleges from there) might be more realistic from what you have shared. I don’t know how Yale’s music program will work - will they bend on scores to accommodate superb musicians? If not, then it would be a stretch as well.
@beaglemom This was the situation for S. His high school gpa and APs and all that were stellar, but his SAT was on the low end for those schools. He got into Peabody, but not Hopkins. He would still have been able to take any courses he wanted at Hopkins, but it’s not the same as a degree. The other important piece of that is financial. Our understanding is that there is a lot more money available from Hopkins than Peabody (it’s probably the same at the other elite schools with big endowments and their sister conservatories). The package at Peabody was nice, but didn’t come close to anywhere else he was accepted.
Of course, this is anecdotal, and maybe S didn’t have his best audition there. Perhaps if he’d have played better they’d have offered more. No way to really know, but at least it’s a data point.
Freshman PSAT scores will come up with the SAT this year. I think she is a good candidate for Ivies etc. and good fit. I just wonder if she should attend college without the conservatory component.
Things shift around a lot. I started posting a year or so ago about cellist daughter. Initially she wanted to go to a conservatory. As time went on she realized maybe a dual degree was the way to go. She is still going to try for a few schools for dual degree but the enthusiasm has waned lately. It seems now though she is leaning towards a mostly academic future with music as a double major or minor with lessons on the side. As my D makes her way through her senior year she is getting to know herself better. Kids change a lot during high school. Just be prepared!
And as your daughter is doing, it can be wise to keep all options open until late April in senior year if there is uncertainty or changes going on!
I really appreciate all your responses/input. I will keep you all posted on our journey. I wanted to also point out she took the PSAT early freshman year and she hasn’t taken the SAT yet. She only took one freshman AP course (World History) and History is her weakest subject, so we expect the AP/SAT to improve.
Also, how does her overall HS schedule look? Is it in line with what is expected at selective schools? Any recommendations?
FRESHMAN (last year, all A’s except B in History):
Honors French 2
Accelerated Math
AP World History
Honors Chemistry
Honors English
Chamber Orchestra
Health/PE
SOPHOMORE (current year, so far all A’s):
Honors French 3
Accelerated Pre-Calc/Calc AB
AP Human Geography
AP Chemistry C
Honors English
Honors Chamber Orchestra
Health/PE
JUNIOR
Honors French 4
AP Calc BC
AP US History
AP Biology
AP English LA
AP Music Theory
Honors Chamber Music
SENIOR
AP French 5
Accelerated Calc 3
AP European History
AP Physics C (2 periods)
AP English RA
Honors Chamber Music
Should she possibly add either AP Stats (probably easy A for her) or AP Economics (may be challenging for her)?
Is it important to play all 4 years in HS orchestra, even though she’s in an outside orchestra as well? She loves it, but it makes it hard to fit in all her courses.
Really appreciate the input from you experts out there!
Also, her Freshman PSAT score was listed as the top 1% nationally, so I’m confused as to why this is considered too low by many posters here. Am I missing something, or does she need a perfect score?
If she plans to major in a STEM area, she can drop AP Euro. I’d swap it for AP stats or Econ if possible. That said, as the main thing is that her counselor should be able to state on recommendations that your D is taking a very rigorous schedule — which it looks like she is. Most schools will also look at the unweighted GPA - they expect all As or very close to it even with all the AP classes. AP test scores are less important and usually don’t need to be reported until admittance.
My D’s outside orchestra strongly urged continuation of HS orchestra, so she kept that. She took AP Spanish, English (two of them), US History, Calc BC, Chem, Physics, Bio, Stats and one Econ. Our state required PE/Health all four years (!!), so my D actually took PE outside of school to fit everything else in.
Even with rigorous classes and stellar test scores, remember that the highly selective schools all have admit rates around 10% and are considered reaches for everyone. Make sure she also identifies a safety or two where she would be happy. Also, she needs to retake the PSAT in junior year if she wants a shot at National Merit Scholar.
No colleges care about your daughter’s Freshman PSAT score, and no, your daughter doesn’t have to play all 4 years in HS orchestra.
She does not have to load up on more rigorous courses than listed, and I think that she should take what she wants to take and is interested in, once the basic “rigorous” course load has been done. No need for stats or economics unless she really wants them.
Music can really help get into selective schools and they honor true commitment to it, so even a kid who hasn’t taken the most rigorous course load but has excelled musically (at a level where that excellence is clear) may have a better chance than the kid doing every AP and perfect stats but no music.
No need to continue in HS orchestra if it is not satisfying. Many talented kids don’t do any music at their high school in senior year or junior and senior years in favor of playing in an outside orchestra, practice, lessons and in senior year, doing prescreens and auditions. Continued summer programs are a good idea.
She does seem like a good candidate to Ivies and other selective school, and for double degrees as well.
For your daughter, make sure she does things for authentic reasons. She does so much and it seems clear this is a result of an inner drive, but there are kids who do a lot in order to get in, and that shows to admissions.
It is early yet, so too much talk of admissions can be destructive, as I have said before.
I agree. I believe (at least in some instances) the outside orchestras recommend doing the high school orchestra so they don’t look like they are raiding the high school programs, which could cause feelings of conflict.
For what it’s worth…
1). If she’s gunning for Ivies and can do all course work and music while enjoying time with friends and family go for it. There ARE kids that can work at high levels in both (still note the comment below on auditions).
2.). From a general view, it looks like a lot of everything. It’s hard to tell who she is. It’s AP everything plus music. Many (but not all) music kids do “sacrifice for their art”. They will begin to make trade offs jr and sr year as they become aware of the competition for selective schools. A standard (high achieving) schedule in freshman and sophomore year may change to only AP in STEM junior to allow for increased time in music. Senior year may lighten again to allow for audition prep and travel second semester of sr year. This is so common that you will read often that the acadmic expectations for music students are lower. It’s not lower bc students can’t perform at a high level, it’s lower bc music is time intensive and … there’s only so much time in a day. To get to a high level in music will take time. Music schools understand this.
And…4 AP classes second semester of sr year … yikes! If she does auditions she’ll miss a lot of school. She’ll need to be sure the AP courses allow so much time off. Guidance could let you know. If she doesn’t choose an audition programs then it may be fine.