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Applying to:
Northwestern University (ED)
University of Chicago
Boston University
University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill

White male from a small Southern town
(Note that music is my intended minor, not major)

ACADEMICS
GPA-3.958 w, approximately 3.5 uw
Class Rank: 55/517
SAT-1380 (670 math, 710 verbal)
AP US History-3
AP Music Thoery-4
AP American Government-3
AP American History-3
AP English Language and Composition-4

HONORS AND ACTIVITIS
National Honor Society (12, 11, 10)
Academic Team (12)
Principle’s Honor Roll (11, 10)
FCAT perfect score on reading and writing (10)

EMPLOYMENT AND HOBBIES
Florida Federations of Garden Club (FFGC) Wekiva Youth Camp counseling, 2003-2002
Seminole Softball concession stand, 2003-2000
Freelance website writing, 2003-1999
Personal website writing, 2003-2001
Satire website writing, 2003-2002
Writing and production of an independent film, 2003

MUSIC
Wind Ensemble, my school’s top band (12, 11, 10, 9); district level superior (11, 10, 9); state level superior (11) and excellent (9); first chair alto saxophone (12, 11, 10)
Marching band (12, 11, 10, 9); district level superior (11, 10, 9); associate section leader (12); equipment manager (10)
Saxophone lessons with UCF saxophone professor (12, 11, 10)
Orchestra (12)
Volunteer music lessons and assistance at local middle schools (12, 9)
Jazz band (11, 10, 9); state level superior (9) and excellent (11); district level superior (11, 10, 9); first chair alto saxophone (11, 10)
Disney World “Very Merry Christmas” parade (11, 10, 9)
Sanford Christmas parade (11, 10, 9)
Seminole High School homecoming parade (11, 10, 9)
Festivals at Disney World and Universal Studios (11, 10, 9)
Solo and ensemble festival (11, 10, 9); Florida Bandmasters Association (FBA) grade 7/7 solo (11), district level superior, state level excellent; FBA grade 5/7 trio (11), district level superior, state level excellent; FBA grade 7/7 solo (10), district level superior, state level excellent; FBA grade 5/7 solo (9), district level superior, state level good; FBA grade 5/7 trio (9), district level excellent.
Show band (10, 9)
Sanford Christmas charity event jazz ensemble performance (10)
Benefit cancer fundraiser razz ensemble performance (10)
Goldsboro Elementary School Reading Banquet volunteer duet performance (9)
Arts Alive festival of arts (9)

By Neo (Neo) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 04:08 pm: Edit

You're obviously not mediocre.

By Kwyjibo86 (Kwyjibo86) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 04:23 pm: Edit

i love these kids who fish for compliments...

By Duck (Duck) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 04:27 pm: Edit

AP US History and AP American History?

By Geniusash (Geniusash) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 04:29 pm: Edit

Well, a 3.5 GPA is pretty low...and you have three hours of band? Do you take ANY real classes? Also, I wouldn't list ALL of the parades, that's assumed with marching band. You don't seem very well-rounded with so many performance-oriented ECs. Have you taken any theory? Played a sport? Done student gov't? Any directing? Northwestern is a big reach Boston and Chicago may be high-end matches, I don't know about UNC.

By Geniusash (Geniusash) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 04:30 pm: Edit

Sorry, duh, AP Music Theory

By Fairyofwind (Fairyofwind) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 04:37 pm: Edit

i love these kids who fish for compliments...

wtf. How is he fishing for compliments? A class rank of 55/517 and a bunch of 3's and 4's on APs? And a bunch of filler ECs? If anything, this is much below the average applicant for Northwestern.

By Rubenizm (Rubenizm) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 04:41 pm: Edit

ok wouldn't mediocre be around 257 class rank?

By Enosis (Enosis) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 06:26 pm: Edit

Not fishing for compliments. If I had a 4.7 GPA and was 3 or 4 in my class and had all 5's on AP exams, then yeah, maybe. I'm looking for honest opinions.

AP US history and AP European history, that's what it's supposed to be.

And my schedules have been quite full. Right now I have 4 AP classes, 2 honors music classes, and journalism II, plus an extra college-level class at a community college. 5/7 of my classes have been either pre-IB, IB, or AP.

By I1lmatics (I1lmatics) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 06:38 pm: Edit

"Boston and Chicago may be high-end matches"

Boston university is by no means comparable to chicago.. with her stats she in easily at boston u

By Clickspring (Clickspring) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 07:24 pm: Edit

You probably won't get into NW or Chicago, but you may get into BU and UNC if you're in state. Where else are you applying?

By Enosis (Enosis) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 07:32 pm: Edit

I'm from Florida. My in-state choice is the University of Florida.

By Girl (Girl) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 07:59 pm: Edit

I'd say you have a fair shot at all of them, with Boston being the most likely. U CHicago and NW are the toughest, but both (definitely Chicago and sort of NW) have a serious overload of in-state/midwestern applicants, so your location would definitely be a plus. As for UNC-CH, I have a friend who was rejected with 1500 and strong ECs, so I think it is especially random there.
Best of luck!

By Rubenizm (Rubenizm) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 10:17 pm: Edit

prick....fishing for compliments

By Rubenizm (Rubenizm) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 10:18 pm: Edit

HEY!!! YOU'RE NOT MEDIOCRE!!!!!! YOU'RE SMART....AAAAW I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU THINK YOU'RE MEDIOCRE!!!! YOU'RE SO MODEST!!!! WILL YOU BE MY BOYFRIEND?????

sad.....very very sad

By Geniusash (Geniusash) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 10:28 pm: Edit

Rubenizm, how did you get your name? Is it from the painter?

By Rubenizm (Rubenizm) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 10:32 pm: Edit

rubenizm? there was a painter? no it's my first name and then 3 letters of the last. Why?

By Geniusash (Geniusash) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 10:51 pm: Edit

Yeah Rubens was a painter (although I'm not sure if that's how he spells his name) he painted "pleasantly plump" women. His name is now a euphamism for fat, rubenesque(although this is a poor spelling). I just ask because I always picture large women prancing around nude in a meadow whenever I see your name. Here I thought you were being creative!!!

By Geniusash (Geniusash) on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 - 10:56 pm: Edit

One of his paintings is posted in my profile "Bacchus"aka Dionysus.

By Jjsmom (Jjsmom) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 12:40 am: Edit

Hi, my son's music ECs are similar to yours -- he's also a saxophonist!

Your school list seems weighted rather heavily toward "reach" except for BU, which I believe is a safety for you.

In the in-between range, how about GWU? They offer a sizable music scholarship for non-music majors. (WHY am I telling you this when my son will be auditioning for it too?) I say, go for it!

Other possible matches: Syracuse, Ithaca, American, Wesleyan (between match and reach), BC (between match and reach), Bucknell, Lehigh, Lafayette, Hobart, as well as some of the better state schools, e.g. Penn State, UMaryland-College Park has a great music program for nonmusic majors, as does TCNJ.

Good luck!

By Nyu2010 (Nyu2010) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 04:27 pm: Edit

"because I always picture large women prancing around nude in a meadow..."

By Rubenizm (Rubenizm) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 08:29 pm: Edit

haha perv

By Rubenizm (Rubenizm) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 08:29 pm: Edit

how often do you do that?

By Neo (Neo) on Thursday, October 02, 2003 - 09:13 pm: Edit

That's kind of disturbing, Ash.

By Illegalintheus (Illegalintheus) on Friday, October 03, 2003 - 12:06 am: Edit

i thought that was another painter... sum columbian guy... what was his name... i did a project on him earlier... wasn't ruben tho i dont think... ooooo BOTERO... haha wow i can't believe i remembered that

By Jamimom (Jamimom) on Friday, October 03, 2003 - 10:56 am: Edit

Why not a music major? If you excell in the auditions, it would make a big difference how a school would view you. Look at your post again and see where you are the strongest. It is pretty obvious where your time has been spent and what your passion has been. I know someone with your stats who got into Stanford because they are always looking for members for their famous marching band and will give academic leeway to a great prospect in that activity.
I suggest you carefully check out the music sections of these schools and see if you can contribute (I'll bet you can) to their music program. Though some schools will reward minors in a field, and most will take the heavy music accomplishment into consideration overall, the biggest impact you can make is if the music department wants you, but you need to want them first. If it turns out once you are there that you would like to switch from a music major to a minor, that should not be too big of a deal. Even if you have to make internal requirements to switch departments as you may with some schools, it would be easier that applying from the outside. Ypu have put so much into that field already. Take advantage of it.

By Jjsmom (Jjsmom) on Friday, October 03, 2003 - 01:55 pm: Edit

Jamimom, I agree with one of your statements.
There *are* some schools that will recruit just for music, especially marching band. (Ohio State comes to mind.) My sister, who was a mediocre student, was accepted at Carnegie Mellon, probably because she was first chair flute in our All-State Orchestra.

But I disagree with your advice re: lying to adcoms that you are planning to major in music.

You said, "If you excell in the auditions, it would make a big difference how a school would view you." Well, excelling in auditions AND not majoring in music makes you even more interesting. I think schools LIKE to see creative types with scholastic aspirations. They would view you just fine with music as a passion though not a career path.

Our neighbor was accepted to Yale, Columbia, Cornell and Dartmouth with 1490 SATs, and SAT II in the mid 700s, top 5% of the class. He's now a Yale freshman, majoring in computer engineering. He is planning to audition for the Yale wind ensemble and jazz band, and skipped the marching band. Believe me, his application listed every single music accomplishment, and there were many (including All-County and All-State on three different instruments!) but his primary essay was about the computer consulting company he created. His secondary essay was about his passion for music.

My son has a similar (though not quite as spectacular) background. His SAT is 1530, SAT IIs of 710, 730 and 750, and 5's on both AP exams he took. He is graduating in the top 3% in his class. 90% of his extracurricular time was devoted to music, and his resume is very similar to Enosis' but like Enosis, he will not be majoring in music.

He is leaning toward chemistry as a major/career. My son's essays address the personal balance he has attained by combining both creative and academic interests.

He *is* looking carefully at the music programs at every school he is applying to. He plans to audition for wind ensembles, jazz bands, etc. During his college tours, he makes it his business to visit the music department and get a feel for their opportunities for non-music majors. All the schools he visited (and we're talking GREAT schools) were very amenable to him auditioning and participating as a non-major. If you can't visit, check out the colleges' webpages. Most explicitly state that participation in the ensembles do NOT require majoring in music. Some even state outright that most ensemble members are NOT music majors!

This of course wouldn't apply to music conservatories, e.g. Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, etc.

In high school, music was where my son met his closest friends and he hopes to do the same in college. But, no way will he declare music as a major or even a minor, when music is his hobby, not a future career. I think both Enosis' and my son's devotion to music adds immeasurably to their applications, which have great credentials to begin with. There's no need to lie.

By Geniusash (Geniusash) on Friday, October 03, 2003 - 06:13 pm: Edit

No Peter Paul Rubens did also (he was Finnish).
No, I am not a perv, I just appreciate good art (even if it largely consists of large nude prancing women). I assure you that the gratification I recieve from such works is purely intellectual.

Wow, that may be the most akward thing I've ever written in my entire life, oh well, you get the picture.

By Rubenizm (Rubenizm) on Friday, October 03, 2003 - 07:23 pm: Edit

haha. awkward doesn't describe it really.

like dale gribble would say "gih!"

By Geniusash (Geniusash) on Saturday, October 04, 2003 - 12:33 am: Edit

Oh Dale, Rusty Shackleford, yes.

By Iwannagotoduke (Iwannagotoduke) on Monday, October 06, 2003 - 08:33 pm: Edit

I think you have a good chance at UNC-CH. Just write about diversity, diversity, and more diversity in your essays to there. I knew two people who got in to Chapel Thrill with sat scores of 1010. One was a minorty...not surprised, but the other was not and she still got in.

By Sidis (Sidis) on Monday, October 06, 2003 - 08:44 pm: Edit

Yeah, I also draw some nude women sometimes. I don;t consider it to be bad at all (We'll unless you go and start feeling horny with your own drawings but that is sick). The thing is to try to visualize a feeling that flows through a body... expression.. well, don;t get me started

By Jamimom (Jamimom) on Monday, October 06, 2003 - 10:59 pm: Edit

I am not suggesting that anyone lie about what his major is going to be. I am asking this young person to look at his resume. Where has he been spending his time? What is his passion, his talent? I don't know what he says he wants his major to be and without scrolling up, I could not guess it. His music background is what makes him particularly attractive to schools.
Jismom, your son's stats are high enough that he can realistically apply to schools that do not even bother with music auditions. When you have stats that are not that high and want to get into schools that are a stretch, an audition could make all of the difference in the world. In such schools, your music resume makes little difference in admissions unless you do audition (in which case it counts heavily) and you are a music major. (Some cases minor)
Many kids pick their major out of a hat or out of fancy. Most change it at least a couple of times. To make up a major to fit a school is one thing, but to declare a major in something you have been doing for years for hours a day is not deceptive in the least especially when you are planning to continue the activity in college. A change of minor to major and vice versa is nothing for an applicant, an acceptant and even a student.
To pick a major solely to get into a school is not only a deceptive practice, it often leads to more lies. I would not recommend that to anyone. But to see a resume like this, and not ask, why not music, is really unnatural. It would be very natural for him to be a music major. If Enosis feels it is out of the question, than so be it. But he has all of the pieces in place.
In many of the schools there are performance opportunities for non music and non drama majors just as there are club sports for athletes that cannot or do not want to play on the NCAA teams. For an outstanding swimmer, to decide not to swim college when he is applying to Harvard is not a good decision when he has the times to interest the school and has spent the many years to get those times. I would certainly suggest he just try it for a year unless he is absolutely fed up. And if he wants to swim but just on a club basis, I would tell him to seriously reconsider at least for freshman year. Not to deceive the college, but to give the sport a chance at college as well as to reap the benefits of such a hook. So I am askin Enosis, and even suggesting to him to give it a try. It can only benefit him , he has the background and continuing interest to do it and he can always change his mind. But if he feels he is lying if he does this, absolutely he should not.

By Rubenizm (Rubenizm) on Monday, October 06, 2003 - 11:11 pm: Edit

that's still kinda nasty sidis.