<p>How much can being an all-state viola player help your application at one of the ivies, assuming you're really good at it and send in a tape and they love it and all that nice stuff. I guess I'm just kinda asking, how much weight does the music department have in admissions decisions?</p>
<p>Search for yourself - there are plenty of threads on this forums about whether music helps in admission. In general though, not a big tipping factor. And in my impression, all-state is not a big honor unless you are from some of the very selective states, and I always think that because viola players are usually lacking, the competition for viola players is not that high.</p>
<p>I had been looking around but people mostly only talked about how it doesn't help unless you play one of the less common instruments (I'm not sure if viola would count). I would think that NY is one of the harder states to get into all-state from, but I really wouldn't know. And yes, I know that it is pretty easy to get into it through playing viola, but if my CD was great would that then be a tipping factor?</p>
<p>If you are competing against a flute/violin/piano player from your state, with the same statistics, you will get the nod. If you are competing against a violist from Idaho with the same statistics, he/she will win. Viola players do have an advantage, screening for conservatory admission is less arduous for instance (though not admission itself), and it is a bonus if you are very good. The line is shorter for violists, but they do have to make music at a high level to be an asset. Good luck.</p>
<p>This is Lorelei's day to beat me to the punch. What she said.</p>
<p>You can't count on viola playing to be a hook or a tipping factor at an Ivy, although you might luck out if all your other stats are stellar and they happen to need violas. If you spread your net a bit wider, I think you will almost certainly find an excellent school somewhere that would offer a very nice merit scholarship to a strong violist with Ivy-type credentials.</p>
<p>Ok thanks guys :) ...but one last thing... I can probably find this other places, but I'm being too lazy to look; how much time does orchestra take up in college? Like, once a day, once a week...?...and will I have time for sports?</p>
<p>It varies greatly from school to school and ensemble to ensemble. Some rehearse as little as two hours a week and play one concert per semester. Others rehearse three times a week for a total of eight or nine hours and expect you to put in even more time on your own. They then perform a major program every four to five weeks.</p>