Anonymous wrote:I'll be in your shoes in a few years, OP, with my violinist child. If your son wants the slimmest chance at an Ivy, he needs BOTH competition wins AND community service. If he wants to be a shoe-in for a second-tier school, he needs both as well. Is he doing math competitions as well?

I know it's tragic to focus so much on how it looks for college apps, but I've got a high school senior who just went through the college admissions wringer and the stakes are high. My violinist kid does one competition a year. Her latest one landed her at Carnegie Hall. She would like to tutor kids one day, when she's older. I encourage her in all of these things because violin has built up her self-confidence and mental stamina in a wonderful way... but it's also good for college applications.

Good luck. Learning to time manage all these activities is also quite tricky.

Anonymous wrote:DS has played piano since he was 6, he plays it really well but doesn’t participate in any competitions etc. Twice a month he volunteers to teach piano underprivileged ES kids and twice a month he plays for a retirement community. He treats it more of a hobby and loves the fact that he is using it for some good in the community.

DH is a highly successful engineer and he thinks DS would be better served playing in competitions and overall proving his excellence. I differ here and think that DS is doing well for what he considers a hobby, DH also thinks that proving to be top notch at it will be good for his college application, again I differ.

DS’s true passion is mathematics, this is something he enjoys. Community aspect helps as he is a sensitive kid. Who do you agree with DH or DS?

Thanks in advance for res