<p>I am a freshman in high school and I absolutely love music; I play bass in my school's jazz band as well as marimba in its drumline and marching band. As of now I have rehearsals every day after school and soon I'll be laying down the bassline for my school's theater program in the pit orchestra. So far, I have no problem maintaining a 4.0 in all of my classes and I've got plenty of time for socializing (in fact, I've met all of my best friends in my music programs).</p>
<p>However, next year I'll be taking 4 AP courses (Psych, Bio, Chem, U.S. History), two honors courses (U.S. Lit, Pre-Calc), and French 2. My hope is to attend a top-tier college and major in physics, so I've got two questions pertaining to my EC's: Will I have enough time to succeed academically next year while participating in all of those music programs, and in the end would they end up helping or hurting my chances of getting into a college that emphasizes science/physics (such as Caltech or MIT)?</p>
<p>Obviously I realize that having these EC's help my chances more than doing nothing, but should I consider dropping one or two in order to make time for studying or a robotics/computer science EC?</p>
<p>**Q.: “and in the end would they end up helping or hurting my chances of getting into a college that emphasizes science/physics (such as Caltech or MIT)?”</p>
<p>A.: “Obviously I realize that having these EC’s help my chances more than doing nothing.”**</p>
<p>No offenses there; just wanted to point out that you already have your answer.</p>
<p>As for the EC type, schools like Caltech and MIT have largely reported that you should “do what you love”. Still, as you want to major in something related to science, I believe you can love something related to science. Bottom-line is: if you have an EC in the same field as your major, you may end up showing dedication and motivation through your application, which is clearly good.</p>
<p>I hope I’m not being a heartbreaker here, but your musical activity (even as awesome as it sounds to be, seriously) won’t, alone, get you into those top colleges. See what will fit best into your schedule and make decisions. Relax, you still have plenty of time.</p>
<p>“make time for studying or a robotics/computer science EC?”</p>
<p>If you also like this new EC, yes. It would be a good strategy.</p>
<p>I remember an addmissions tour at Duke with my S a couple years ago --the admissions rep told us that they accept “well rounded students” and they also accept “lop-sided students”. She used an example of an applicant that only had EC’s in math. He was accepted! You are passionate about something and that is going to make you stand out in a crowd of similar achievers. </p>
<p>If I were you, I would continue to expand on the music. Can you hold a leadership positions related to music? Find community service hours that are related to music (either for NHS hours or just on your own)? Internships?</p>
<p>It sounds like you may have time in your summers however to participate in enrichment programs that show this “other side of you” as well. If you see yourself heading to MIT or similar, then sure, throw in some science related programs. </p>
<p>I would also add Carnegie Mellon to your list.</p>