So I’m a freshman that goes to a boarding school at the moment.
I am a singer and am apart of the standard chorus. However, at the beginning of the year, I auditioned for the select honors chorus and made it, but eventually had to drop because of my rigorous schedule. I also do crew, which is a big time commitment in it of itself.
As a sophomore next year though, I do want to do the honors chorus because the director said that I should, and it also counts towards my GPA, which can’t hurt.
Unfortunately, this leaves very little room for clubs or other EC’s. I am trying to go further with Debate and MUN as I am interested in politics. I really can’t do all as I am worried I will burn myself out as I am taking quite a bit of honors and AP classes next year.
My question is, should I do chorus next year and not do the two clubs, or should I do the two clubs and Chorus?
Hello. It’s great to hear that you have a solid interest in the humanities; that is certainly a good feature to have on college apps.
You have to understand what you REALLY want. If you were always a musician, you have to show continuous commitment towards the arts instead of considering it a “hobby” or a factor that can boost the GPA. Additionally, you must consider that music is a diversifying factor in college admissions. When other students will have far more humanities-oriented research and extracurriculars, you could fall behind. Having music and an arts-related commitment may be a plus factor, if you choose to make that as a hook for yourself.
If you consider it only on the GPA standpoint, withdraw completely and focus on finding a solid-backbone of ECs that match with politics. If it is not your love for music, then don’t do it! It’s not the director that should tell you to do so, you really have to show that you want to be involved. This is very important.
However, if you still demonstrate passion and your only concern is the workload from other classes, it is best that you continue it. I have been a part of my Chorus as a tenor section leader for two years. On the outside, I do many humanities and I am a competitive pianist myself. Honors classes and others are difficult to maintain, but it is not impossible. MUN hardly takes a lot of time, perhaps 10 hours before the conference, which is around months of planning. Having competed in numerous conferences and also with a rigorous schedule, I have done pretty well at some conferences. Debate may take a lot of work, but you will certainly be able to maintain it. If you do, it will look VERY VERY good in the long run. You’ll feel proud, you’ll make a wonderful chorus family, and you’ll stand out.
I really hope you choose Chorus. Just because of a “rigorous schedule” or “GPA factor” are not reasons for you to withdraw from such a wonderful opportunity. Chorus is our family; I hope you can join it.
Thank you so much for your advice! This has really opened my eyes and made me realize that I do love singing and I want to do this for myself- singing, acting, and musical theatre are deep passions of mine that I enjoy doing, so I will do Honors Chorus next year! As for politics, I will try and do other EC’s during the summer and such that also highlight my interest.