Drum Corps Experience on a College Resume

[BRASSO]

When you go to a store to buy an item they don't ask you how much volunteer work that you've done, they want to know if you have the cold hard cash to pay for it. Good grades I can understand, but if they wanted to know about volunteerism and work experience I would blow them off in a heartbeat. They're there to serve you - not the other way around.

While I empathize with the analogy between buying ( for example ) grass seed at a hardware store and buying for example the costs of Higher Ed education, the hardware store will sell you the grass seed whether you are an Einstein or a hayseed. They don't care, so long as you have ( as you said ) " the cold hard cash". At the University level however, The student is competing with other students for a spot in line. Here, its like Drum Corps to some extent. The competition to get a spot in line of the Blue Devils is infinately more competitive than getting a spot in line with an Open Class Corps. Similarly, the competition to get into the Ivies or the Little Ivies is infinately more competitive than to secure a spot into a Community College, or lower tier 4 year college. So its not quite the same as walking into a store and telling the clerk you want to buy such and such off their shelf. Finally, at the top level Universities, when it comes to " grades ", most of their applicants have top grades. So they have to look beyond just grades and SAT's at this level to determine who to admit. So many do look at such things as volunteerism, or a small business you might have started up as a teenager, or something creative and unique that you've accomplished that sets you apart from all the other applicants with likewise strong academics. At lower tier Colleges however, grades and SAT scores might be just enough alone to get you admitted, as the competition for a spot in line is less keen than the top tier schools, so the volunteerism angle and such may not be much of a factor at all, if your grades and SAT scores are strong enough.

Edited June 2, 2013 by BRASSO

[soccerguy315]

It all depends upon the University. I don't think doing Drum Corps is going to give one an edge getting into MIT, Univ. of Chicago, Cal- Tech, the Ivies or the Little Ivies. None of these schools have Marching Bands that the school or the students take seriously. Even the Marching Band members at these Universities barely take their Marching Band participation at these Uiversities any nore seriously than a stroll in the park. I don't see Admissions Dept at these level schools all that interested in one's Drum Corps and/ or High School Marching Band experience.

I disagree... top schools are overloaded with applicants with perfect and near perfect SAT scores. If you talk to any admissions officer at a top school, they will tell you they can fill their class a second time with all different students and the academic quality of their class would not drop a single bit. At these schools, the admissions office is trying to build the "correct" community of students. You have to play up what makes you unique. I guarantee you these schools have way more applicants that took multivariable calc or linear algebra than marched drum corps (that said, I'm sure people that took multivariable calc or linear algebra in high school are better students than almost (ALMOST) everyone in drum corps).

[BRASSO]

I disagree... top schools are overloaded with applicants with perfect and near perfect SAT scores. If you talk to any admissions officer at a top school, they will tell you they can fill their class a second time with all different students and the academic quality of their class would not drop a single bit. At these schools, the admissions office is trying to build the "correct" community of students. You have to play up what makes you unique. I guarantee you these schools have way more applicants that took multivariable calc or linear algebra than marched drum corps (that said, I'm sure people that took multivariable calc or linear algebra in high school are better students than almost (ALMOST) everyone in drum corps).

Yes, but the top tier Schools don't care whether you played a tuba in Drum Corps ( or H.S. Marching Band ), and THATS the point here I am making as this was the question as posed, ie if Drum Corps experience helps on a college resume. The Ivies and Little Ivies, and the top tier Engineering oriented Universities have LOTS of applicants that played in a Band or can play a guitar or a picolo in the marching band or whatever, and to them its essentially a non factor... especially if by contrast another applicant has run a small business, has volunteered perhaps overseas, or is a legacy applicant, or has demonstated the technical ability to fix things that are physically broke. The best way to get into a top tier school if we are looking at non academics is frankly to be able to kick a soccer ball, throw a football, or drop a 3 pointer in basketball, shoot a hockey puck off a stick and whatnot. Far down the list of non academics criteria with the top schools for determination for admittance over other straight A students is the ability to play a tuba in Marching Band or in Drum Corps. I did acknowledge that at the lower tier colleges, playing in Band or Drum Corps might provide a very slight edge over another applicant. And thats all I'm really saying in response to the OP's question here above.

Edited June 2, 2013 by BRASSO

[Slingerland]

I disagree... top schools are overloaded with applicants with perfect and near perfect SAT scores. If you talk to any admissions officer at a top school, they will tell you they can fill their class a second time with all different students and the academic quality of their class would not drop a single bit. At these schools, the admissions office is trying to build the "correct" community of students. You have to play up what makes you unique. I guarantee you these schools have way more applicants that took multivariable calc or linear algebra than marched drum corps (that said, I'm sure people that took multivariable calc or linear algebra in high school are better students than almost (ALMOST) everyone in drum corps).

I'd have a tendency to agree. One of mine just went through the application process with a couple top tier schools and three of the little Ivies, and because the applicants all go in knowing what the average accepted ACTs and GPAs are, the applicant pool has a tendency to be made up of kids whose numbers are all pretty much the same. That being the case, the extracurricular activities seem to be one of the areas where a kid can differentiate between themselves and the others who had 33 composites and 4.5 GPAs.

I think there's more knowledge of what drum corps is and what it takes than we all believe. Not saying it's a common understanding, but that more people in the academic world know about it than we might think. That being the case, it would make sense to include it as a personal accomplishment. It certainly wouldn't hurt.

Edited June 2, 2013 by Slingerland

[BRASSO]

Was wondering what the thoughts are about how drum corps experience would relate on a college entrance interview where drum corps "only" equals marching band to the school officials.

When schools are looking for good grades and volunteerism and work experience, how does drum corps enhance an entrance resume?

Some of this is almost within the realm of common sense too. If a student is applying to Julliard or the Berklee School of Music, then the ability to play the piano along with the the prior experience of playing the Trumpet in Marching Band or in Drum Corps can be important. But if one is applying to Cal- Tech or MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Williams, Amherst, Univ. Chicago, etc its not nearly the benefit. So a lot of this comes back to what was said earlier it seems to me.... " it mostly depends upon the College or the University one is applying to ".

Edited June 2, 2013 by BRASSO

[garfield]

You might be looking at it from the wrong angle. Unless you go on a scholarship then you're not only a student, you're also a customer paying them for their service, and like any customer you should expect to get what you're paying for. Think about it. When you go to a store to buy an item they don't ask you how much volunteer work that you've done, they want to know if you have the cold hard cash to pay for it. Good grades I can understand, but if they wanted to know about volunteerism and work experience I would blow them off in a heartbeat. They're there to serve you - not the other way around.

First, I'm not the type of person who needs to be reminded to think with the suggestion "think about it". What I hate about that asinine statement is the presumption that the recipient of that advice otherwise walks around in a daze all day, not thinking...about...anything. The suggestion adds no weight at all to the importance of the point you're trying to make, and it's generally insulting to the recipient.

All that said, I think you're confusing the commercial world with the educational world. I question - highly - the value of higher education in any form in today's world, but an apt comparison to the commercial world, if you feel one is necessary, is more akin to buying a car. But, in this case, the applicant has something of value to offer to the institution as much as the institution has something to offer the applicant. Much like a prostitute and a john, once those roles are defined everything else is just negotiation of price. The question is: what value - monetary value - does drum corps experience bring to the school to which the applicant applies? If a monetary value can be placed on that student's experience it should be considered as part of the admissions process for what the student can offer to the school..

That's the point of the question.

Edited June 2, 2013 by garfield

[garfield]

Some of this is almost within the realm of common sense too. If a student is applying to Julliard or the Berklee School of Music, then the ability to play the piano along with the the prior experience of playing the Trumpet in Marching Band or in Drum Corps can be important. But if one is applying to Cal- Tech or MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Williams, Amherst, Univ. Chicago, etc its not nearly the benefit. So a lot of this comes back to what was said earlier it seems to me.... " it mostly depends upon the College or the University one is applying to ".

Granted, but the OP was specific in identifying non-music majors. Your point still stands, I suspect, that it's dependent on the school. But I'd like to identify drum corps' value in both the chances of acceptance as well as the monetary (tuition assistance) implications.

Is it possible that drum corps' value is only in representing the other, non-music qualities that drum corps teaches, ala Boo's post above?

[soccerguy315]

Yes, but the top tier Schools don't care whether you played a tuba in Drum Corps ( or H.S. Marching Band ), and THATS the point here I am making as this was the question as posed, ie if Drum Corps experience helps on a college resume. The Ivies and Little Ivies, and the top tier Engineering oriented Universities have LOTS of applicants that played in a Band or can play a guitar or a picolo in the marching band or whatever, and to them its essentially a non factor... especially if by contrast another applicant has run a small business, has volunteered perhaps overseas, or is a legacy applicant, or has demonstated the technical ability to fix things that are physically broke. The best way to get into a top tier school if we are looking at non academics is frankly to be able to kick a soccer ball, throw a football, or drop a 3 pointer in basketball, shoot a hockey puck off a stick and whatnot. Far down the list of non academics criteria with the top schools for determination for admittance over other straight A students is the ability to play a tuba in Marching Band or in Drum Corps. I did acknowledge that at the lower tier colleges, playing in Band or Drum Corps might provide a very slight edge over another applicant. And thats all I'm really saying in response to the OP's question here above.

well, I actually think in the lower tier colleges it matters LESS, because they admit/reject almost completely based on numbers and don't really look at the rest of your application.

I would also say that you could probably turn your drum corps experience into a good essay (again, something that would only matter at a "better" school).

obviously drum corps is not going to help you like being a scholarship athlete or someone that went far in the INTEL or Siemens competitions or starting your own successful business... but it goes above and beyond the standard high school extracurriculars. You would have to add a bullet, like "was chosen by a competitive audition process that included high school and college age musicians from X number of countries; toured the United States and performed for 100,000 paying customers over the course of the summer"

[Slingerland]

Good grades I can understand, but if they wanted to know about volunteerism and work experience I would blow them off in a heartbeat. They're there to serve you - not the other way around.

When there are 10 qualified applicants for every freshman spot, the 'customers' are decidedly not in the drivers' seat - the sellers are. And the sellers (admissions departments) are increasingly looking beyond the GPAs and test scores in determining who to invite in to their schools.

[cybersnyder]

It would definitely look good on the entrance application, but unless the reviewers know what drum corps is it would be about the same as listing "marching band" on your application. You would likely get a higher return on effort and cost with other activities that more closely align with your major. Definitely do drum corps, but work on that GPA / SAT score.

My daughter (and I) play for the Baltimore Ravens Marching Band. Yeah, I know it's not drum corps, we're not trying to be drum corps. Anyways, they started paying band members for practice and performance time this year and now she can list "employed by Baltimore Ravens" on her experience. Ironically, that probably gets her more "points" than marching in a world champion drum corps.

The problem is that most people don't know what drum corps is and like in politics, when you're explaining, you're losing.