I have a kid in TJ’s band and in the current graduating class, one 4 year band kid / marcher went to Chicago and one went to MIT. Several other impressive colleges also in the mix. And band is unweighted there just like everywhere else in FCPS.

I have a kid currently applying to college in the epicenter of hyper-competitive college mania. And I still think you seem a bit... intense about this. If your kid’s entire high school life boils down to an ACT score and a GOA, you need to help her reprioritize. Now.

Marching band is hard. It’s time consuming. It takes a lot of dedication and teamwork. Any college that doesn’t account for this is a college that doesn’t appreciate your kid and what she brings to the table.

Did she work hard? Did she learn things about music and teamwork and sticking with her commitments? Did she make great friends? Was one of the highlights of high school the band trip where...? Was a high point of her year the first day of band camp each summer? If so, then yes. Band was 1000% worth it. If not, than she has bigger issues than .05 on her GPA.

Your kid isn’t her GPA. She isn’t her ACT score. She isn’t the USNWR ranking of the colleges she gets into. She is her own unique blend of talents and interests and yes, weaknesses. If you don’t get this, you are in for a long year.

Anonymous wrote:My kids both had leadership positions in the marching band so they could add that to their resumes. Colleges simply want kids to account for their free time in high school.

She tried the audition for drum major but didn't get it, she is a section leader though. Does it count as leadership position?

I'd look at it this way -- it's too late now to change things up. If she wants to quit because she's tired of it, that's one thing, but she's not going to be able to magic up some other ECs between now and application deadline time.

I think she should lean in to the band experience on her applications. Colleges aren't necessarily looking for individuals with breadth; they're often looking for pointy individuals to create a class with breadth.

She needs to focus on writing knock-it-out-of-the park essays, and putting her best foot forward in showing her commitment to music (which is just as much, if not more, a teamwork exercise as a sport is). Group awards are nothing to sneeze at. This has been her passion and commitment up to now, and she shouldn't be ashamed of it or compare herself to her friends.

I also wouldn't worry about the weight boost, or lack thereof, at all. Schools know what that is all about and as someone said above, they will recalculate it in their own way.

FYI—you aren’t required to be in marching band if you’re in concert band according to FCPS. That’s your school-specific rule because it definitely isn’t the case at our school. Lots of concert bans-only kids. Band director encourages marching band, but doesn’t require it.

My kids both had leadership positions in the marching band so they could add that to their resumes. Colleges simply want kids to account for their free time in high school.

She shouldn't be comparing herself to other students that did different things. Did she take an academically rigorous program? Ignore your school's WGPA - colleges recalculate for their own purposes. It sounds like band was her passion, and that's fine. Plenty of kids have that passion, and other kids have different passions. She doesn't need to have a list of individual awards demonstrating her worth in a ridiculous number of activities. She should be herself and write to her strengths in her essays. Ignore what other kids are doing, especially because she can't change it now.

She might consider using the essay to describe why band has been so important to her.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like she is over it. It sounds like she would love to take advantage of other things.

I can’t imagine anyone gets into college just because they were in a band.

Not just because of band, her GPA is 4.4, ACT is 36, her EC is her weakest point because she didn't do much except band. That's why I want to know if band will help her to get into top schools. People say the top schools like to see consistence like doing one activity for many many years....

She's doing very well. Stop focusing on the schools you want and consider top schools and find a good fit for her.

School already started and yes, she will continue doing band at her senior year. And she is working on her application and really hope the band experience can more or less help her get into her reach schools.

If she wants to play, then she should continue. This tiny difference in her GPA isn't the thing that will or won't get her into the college of her choice. Half the colleges recalculate the GPSs to suit their own needs, anyway.

If she doesn't want to play, it is time to stop before anyone is counting on her.

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like she is over it. It sounds like she would love to take advantage of other things.

I can’t imagine anyone gets into college just because they were in a band.

Not the same but I picked a college because it had a marching band! I was a terrible musician but liked the band culture. It was an awesome community of friends in the middle of a huge school. I’m just here to suggest doing band in college!

As for continuing in high school, I actually found my GPA to be higher during band season than not because I was forced into better time management. But if it’s not her thing and wants to try other activities, let her. She’s only got one year left, spend it doing what you enjoy!

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like she is over it. It sounds like she would love to take advantage of other things.

I can’t imagine anyone gets into college just because they were in a band.

Not just because of band, her GPA is 4.4, ACT is 36, her EC is her weakest point because she didn't do much except band. That's why I want to know if band will help her to get into top schools. People say the top schools like to see consistence like doing one activity for many many years....

At this point, I cannot imagine her playing senior year will make a difference. If she's not playing in college and wants to drop it, let her drop it.

It sounds like she is over it. It sounds like she would love to take advantage of other things.

I can’t imagine anyone gets into college just because they were in a band.

My kid started to play instrument since she was 10, and has always been in band. She is in symphonic, jazz and marching band (it is required by FCPS if you are in symphonic band). She is a senior now and working on her application. She started to complain about her GPA which is lower than her friends because band is a 4.0 class, not honor (4.5) or AP (5.0). Also those rehearsals and trips almost took up her entire time and she didn't have any time to do other actives like debate, etc. Band is a group activity not like debate which is an individual one. The awards are all group awards, and don't look as good as other individual ones. My question is if band experience will help her college application. please share your experience. thanks