<p>Question: My 17 year old has qualified to audition for All State orchestra for viola. He is also on the academic team which has made it to the state finals. The problem is the audition and the academic team event are on the same day. He is still undecided about a musical career, so wonders [...]</p>
<p>I think a factor in this decision should include that he would probably be letting down his team by not showing up to the state finals, after helping them get there.</p>
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<p>He told me that he indeed opted for the academic team competition. But those teams always have at least one “understudy” waiting in the wings, so I think that the team may have been able to survive without him. (I did ask him to let me know how the team makes out in the state tourney.)</p>
<p>Last year my then 17 year-old S had registered to take the ACT for a second time in February, but qualified for the state scholar bowl competition on the same day. We rescheduled the ACT ($20) and they ended up coming in 2nd place in the state.</p>
<p>Then the re-scheduled April ACT conflicted with a qualifying tournament for Forensics, so we re-scheduled until June ($20). Won state/qualified for nationals in forensics. Luckily it wasn’t during the June ACT and he finally re-took & got a higher score.</p>
<p>Other conflicts have been scheduling wisdom teeth surgery (choir) and district/state choir (debate). I get tired just thinking about it!</p>
<p>It does seem that teenagers have more conflicts than their parents do. For many adults my age, as long as there are two TV’s in the house (or a DVR), no more schedule conflicts. ;)</p>
<p>State Orchestra because it is an individual accomplishment.</p>
<p>Depends on what major he is going into and how each potential accomplishment fits into the overall EC picture. I don’t think one event is more prestigious than the other, and I doubt one would tip the application too much in one direction over the other.</p>
<p>Some school will bar you from participating in the following year State Orchestra if you missed this one, unless it is for serious illness or other emergency. Since he is 17 and maybe his senior year may not matter. However, he will likely be overlooked or not be nominated for music’s award which will look very good on paper. Our state is very serious about commitment to the state orchestra.</p>
<p>Probably the orchestra. I’ve never heard of an “academic team”; it sounds like something really ambiguous.</p>
<p>What does he plan to major in? If plans to be a music major, then I would suggest he auditions for the orchestra. I assume ‘academic team’ is some sort of quiz show format and may have little meaning to many colleges, since it is harder to quantify what he did as part of the team. You didn’t say what year in h.s. he is. That would also make a difference.</p>
<p>Forget what “looks better.” That’s stupid. He should do whichever one he enjoys more. </p>
<p>No one should live his life to impress others, no matter how highly placed those others may be.</p>
<p>Adcoms don’t care which looks better or sounds more prestigous, have him attend the event in which he is more passionate. They care more about what a student is passionate about than something down to pad a resume.</p>
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This. The whole college admission process is ludicrous, especially with the arbitrary ranking of what EC’s are better.</p>
<p>THANK YOU JIMBOSTEVE, DOWNEASTERDAD and 4KHAOS.</p>
<p>I read this post and got sick. The fact that a parent posted that and then 5 more went along with it just demonstrates the true backwardness of the college admissions process. Why was which EC a college likes more even a factor in your decision? If the kid wanted to quit both and take up easter egg painting you should let him. life is about being happy and following your passions, not about getting into some prestigious college just because your parents want you to. I hope nobody looks at OPs question and takes it seriously. College admissions should take no precedence over what makes your kids happy.</p>
<p>He should definitely attend the activity at which he would enjoy himself the most! Seeing that he is already well rounded would assure anyone that he won’t have any particular trouble being accepted into college. As an avid band student (but also a member of my school’s strong Academic Decathlon team), I would say that being accepted into an All-State band is a REMARKABLE achievement that would be a once in a lifetime experience if he doesn’t choose to continue his music career. However, if he thinks he will have more fun with his academic team, let him go! The most important part is that he is making the best of his high school years, which should be prioritized above everything.</p>
<p>Perhaps you will find the answer here:
[Study</a> Hacks Blog Archive Want to Get into Harvard? Spend More Time Staring at the Clouds: Rethinking the Role of Extracurricular Activities in College Admissions](<a href=“Want to Get into Harvard? Spend More Time Staring at the Clouds: Rethinking the Role of Extracurricular Activities in College Admissions - Cal Newport”>Want to Get into Harvard? Spend More Time Staring at the Clouds: Rethinking the Role of Extracurricular Activities in College Admissions - Cal Newport)</p>
<p>The sad thing is, neither of these accomplishments is spectacular. Most really good musicians don’t bother with allstate orchestras (I say this as a parent of musician children-its nice but it doesn’t wow folks like winning a scholarship to a festival, winning a concerto competition or playing in a highly regarded youth symphony) and the debate doesn’t get impressive until one reaches national levels. Both are “starting point” accomplishments that can be built upon with work and passion in a given area.</p>
<p>I suggest that the child focus on what brings him the most satisfaction. Allstate orchestras are a lot of fun but no sign of who the really great musicians are. If he prefers the other activity, build on it. One is not “better” than the other. Both offer opportunities for the child to explore interests.</p>
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I’m surprised at hornet’s comment. To me and most others, someone who gets in all state orchestra is really spectacular.</p>
<p>GoBlue81, that’s an amazing link.</p>
<p>Hi Maxwell,
My comments are based on personal experience and being around youth orchestras. The directors of the youth symphonies saw allstate as fun and not challenging musically. Two were annoyed when kids missed practice to go to these things. Allstates are a great starting point but, at least in my state, are not a good measure of a musician. There are usually a lots of kids lined up in halls and playing before juries for less than five minutes. Very different from the 15+ minutes one does for a festival or college. When my kids were auditioning for colleges (granted these were schools with strong music departments), the faculty showed no interest in allstate. They talked festivals and who the kid has studied under. In our local youth symphony, it was rare for the top players to do allstate past 9th-10th grade (however my son continued to do it simply because he enjoyed the weekend out of town and hanging out with kids from other high schools).</p>
<p>I do not devalue to purpose of allstate but in the context of the music world, it seems fairly small (but certainly worth doing as it is a great introduction to auditions and a nice way to meet other people who enjoy music).</p>