<p>Hey everyone,
I'm going to be a freshman in High School this year and I'm considering picking up orchestra as my elective again. I only picked up viola in seventh grade, and I'm okay (was 2nd and 4th chair in middle school) at playing it. Will doing orchestra and getting better at viola through it help my chances of getting into a good school, or is it not worth the time? Also, how good would I have to be at viola for it to help my chances of getting into a college?</p>
<p>Definitely go for it.
More EC the better.
More school involvement the better.
More consistency and dedication the better.</p>
<p>You have to consider the trade off of taking an orchestra class, because it can lower your class rank (since orchestra classes are usually unweighted and could take the place of another weighted class) and also make your schedule less rigorous.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t think it matters that much unless you demonstrate that you’ve spent a lot of time on it and go really far with it.</p>
<p>It will only matter to a college if you plan to participate in music in college. For example, if the college symphony is in need of another oboist or harpist as their oboist is graduating and you reach out to the orchestra conductor or music department during the admission process it might help you. I have a friend whose daughter graduated from Princeton and she was an acccomplished violinist and violist studying with a prominent teacher in NY. She did not plan to pursue a conservatory education but she did reach out to the Princeton orchestra as well as to Williams orchestra during the application process and she did commit to four years of playing … so yes it likely helped her.</p>
<p>“will X help me get into a “good” college??” </p>
<p>This is a mindset that is going to blind you from what not only your academic experience, but your personal experiences are supposed to be about. Everything you do in high school and really your life should be looked back on with the mindset “I enjoyed what i was doing.” </p>
<p>Do you particularly enjoy… viola and orchestra? Even if you’re just bad, it really doesn’t matter. Do you enjoy it? </p>
<p>When you stop worrying about “getting into a good school” and do the things you enjoy, the intrinsic, non tangible aspects of your application will shine. Personally, in high school. I loved my Government/History courses, my choir and my weightlifting. </p>
<p>So. Guess what i did in high school? Only AP’s i took were History/Government based. Four years in the choir/four years weightlifting. </p>
<p>Am I any good at singing? … not really. I can’t even sight-read. Am I an olympic class weightlifter? no, I bench 180… .? lmao</p>
<p>Get great grades, and go do the things you want to do. The college that will take you for the person you are is the place you’ll belong.</p>
<p>Doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>Music kicks ass, go for it!</p>
<p>If you like it, do it, but don’t do it to get into colleges. Colleges like it when you do things you’re passionate about, not when you do a bunch of ECs you only kind of like and are doing to get an acceptance letter. If you’re not really passionate about it, look for another activity that you actually love and try to excel in it. And remember, when it comes to ECs, more is NOT better.</p>
<p>So basically the only reason I was considering continuing orchestra was for it to help my chances to get into a good college, but since that won’t work because I don’t think I’ll be good enough to play in a college orchestra, what are some examples of other EC’s I can do that would be fun and help with college? (I get the point of ‘Don’t do it for college’ but it wouldn’t hurt if it helped my chances a little)</p>
<p>I wasn’t saying definitively that you should continue or you shouldn’t continue. You should participate in orchestra because you want to do so and for most people, it is a valuable experience and a significant part of how you want to spend your time. My d’s instrument is voice and she participated in chorus all four years of high school , went to all county chorus and then to all-state chorus and was the lead for the high school show four years in a row. She was co-captain of the flag team and she was vice-president of the music honor society. She also had other extra-curricular activities, Key Club and yearbook… and National Honor Society. All of those activities made her very well-rounded but she couldn’t and wouldn’t have devoted all that time to music if it wasn’t really important to her.</p>