For context I'm applying as a music major to some very selective schools but my rigor isn't super maxed out because I took tons of music courses which took most of my elective load. I go to a super competitive school with tons of APs and hyper-rigorous students.
I want to go a t20 so I'm wondering
This is kind of a dumb question, but is worth asking. During Aegon's reign there were three dragon riders. During the reigns of Aenys and Maegor there were no more than 4-5 dragon riders at once. Jaehaerys only let three of his kids ride dragons (his heir, his hand, and the future queen), as well as two of his sisters (both at some point were Queen, Alysanne being his wife and Rhaena being wife to Aegon and Maegor).
Viserys allowed every Targ and Velaryon born have dragons.
I'm retaking in October to up my composite score, and as I've taken practice tests I've noticed my main issue with practice tests is consistency. Especially with English and Reading. Sometimes my math is a 30, sometimes it's a 35. Sometimes my English is a 35 and sometimes a 33, and so on. I've managed (on separate attempts) a 34 on English and Math, and a 36 on reading when actually taking the tests. Between tests my scores have varied. Up to a 5-6 point difference between each test.
The problem is that I'm applying to a school where you need to submit your best single-sitting score, and mine isn't very good. I need to be extremely consistent so that I score 34+ on every section. Not very easy, even when you know the material. The margin of error is super thin. 1-2 stupid errors can drop your score harshly. I am fwiw not doing science.
Any tips?
I'm a big fan of House of the Dragon, so I've decided to rewatch in French (b1-b2 range). I'm curious what your thoughts are about watching shows you've already seen in French, since you'll already know what's happening in each scene. Obviously it'll help with comprehension since you know the context- but it also removes the need to actually figure out new info.
Do you find this effective? Feel free to answer in french...
I just read the second D&E novella after years and man… I really loved it. People don’t talk about it much because it’s just a quiet story about petty lords, but it delivers on GRRM’s favorite themes really well. Starting a deadly war because your nephew’s a bastard or your sister’s husband was a gay dude who wanted nothing to do with her… writ small.
Something about Ser Eustace really reminds me of Septon Maribald’s broken man speech, “I never saw a king, or got a penny.” So many died because of one man’s spite, and the perception that one man was “more worthy” because he was gallant and strong rather than learned and pious. Martin tells readers that power is an arbitrary idea decided by things that have nothing to do with being qualified or capable. That history is written by the victor, showing us a man whose family’s influence and legacy was destroyed by the Conquerer’s lust for fire and blood.
I also loved how Martin criticizes the idea of treason. Is it fair to consider a loyal man treason because he swore an oath to the wrong man? A similar idea to the Dance.
Then there’s the biggest theme: war is pointless. The Dance was pointless because ultimately it was one family arguing over which member sat the throne, Targaryen power would’ve been strong either way and the house would’ve been better off without any civil war. The WOTFK was caused by one woman’s arrogance and pride, easily preventable if she had just put aside her hate. This story does the same thing at a smaller scale. All the deaths in this skirmish ultimately led to nothing, because neither side was defeated or victorious. It is, as Ser Arlan says, “One big pissing contest to see which lord is strongest.”
There’s a lot of heart in the Dunk and Egg stories. I’m really excited to see this get adapted on TV form. AKOTSK is the only piece of ASOIAF media (in my opinion) that was able to outdo its source material and deliver a better version of the story on screen. The actors and writers give a lot of heart and spirit to it.
If you haven’t read this novella, go read it! If you’ve only seen GoT and HoTD and haven’t read the books, go read them all as a matter of a fact! GRRM is awesome.
I want to be accepted as a music major and econ major
Academics:
3.88 UW
4.56 W
Top of 15%
AP AB
APUSH (5)
AP LANG (5)
AP HUGE (5)
AP WORLD (5)
AP PRECALCULUS (4)
AP FRENCH (4)
+3 more this year and an IB course
3 dual enrollment college courses, 3 more this semester. Should be noted i have a shortened schedule at school because of my dual enrollment, but this isn’t necessary true for all dual students. Definitely didn’t do max rigor as it’s a super competitive school
ACT: Best single sitting: 33 composite
Superscore: 35 Math 34 English 34 Reading 36
Will probably retake for princeton, aiming for 35 composite
ECs:
- Community Band captain, nationally ranked
- Composing and arranging, pieces played at national and regional festivals
- Played and received multiple awards at 3 different nationally prestigious jazz festivals in freshman and jr years
- Jazz combo involving charity work and paid gigs
- Jazz summer camp before sophomore year
- Practicing instrument 2hrs daily
- French Lessons/Study with unofficial B2 certification
- Summer internship at a local (super unknown, NOT tech) startup
- Part-time jobs in fast food and as a cashier
- Weightlifting
Awards:
- Section award at national competition (section captain)
- Individual award at national competition
- 6 regional band awards for outstanding solos
- All state band in freshman year
- AP Scholar w distinction
Essay: Personal but IMO very strong
Schools: UNC (great scholarships) Duke, REA Princeton, a bunch of state schools. I have tons of target and safeties too, these are my reaches
I know UNC isn’t a target school for finance but it’s regarded by many as a very very good school regardless. There are tons of college grads in the triangle who can’t find jobs, and most of those I know got jobs were able to break into tech with a CS degree. It’s in state for me.
Any helpful thoughts?
Yes it’s a lifelong venture. But there is a point where many reach a high, high level and stop actively studying. Especially those who live in the country where the language is spoken and use it constantly. You get to a point where everything there is to express can be said and understood, but you’re still not at a native level for grammar and vocab. You still miss expressions, etc.
(TL) fuck you mods
Generally, many Jewish communities are taught that the non-jews of Poland had large hand in helping and supporting holocaust efforts. Obviously it’s more complex than that. I’ve just visited Majdanek, a camp just 5 minutes from the city center of Lublin- a Polish city of 350,000 people and one that went from having over 100k jewish people to just 60. That is, 60 people, not 60 thousand.
That being said, Poles themselves suffered a great deal of losses in the war and themselves were under great threat of Nazi persecution both for helping Jews and in general. I won’t pretend like anti-semitic sentiment didn’t exist though, as my family often told me stories of discrimination and segregation for being Jewish when they lived in pre-war Poland. I don’t want to villainize the Poles though, I’ve only meant kind and well-meaning people here. My grandfather was a holocaust survivor himself who often told stories of the Poles laughing, spitting, and waving goodbye at jews taken from the ghettos. It’s not black and white though. Please give me context!
The real answer of course, is both. But in jazz academia this seems like a huge divisive point. I've met lots of dudes who give you a sheet of patterns to learn and transpose into all keys, and then have you apply cells into your language. I've met tons of guys who say PDFs/patterns are a scam and you will get everything you need to learn just from transcribing. Especially older cats are SUPER against anything written down, and say you learn everything from what you transcribe. Which is fair, since improvisation comes from the mind, not the page. Many younger cats I know started off transcribing and used patterns to begin playing more complex lines and to play out.
Where do you stand? It's an interesting discussion. Personally I find patterns harder to incorporate into your playing than transcriptions, but they have their value in playing lines and more complex ideas.
I'm sure you get this question a lot- pardon me if you do. I will be visiting Krakow for work and have this Sunday to travel around the city for some sightseeing. What are the must-sees? I can skip the museums. I'm more of a walk-around and see the major attractions type of person. And yes- I know not to go into strip clubs.
Thanks in advance! I will stay near oldtown
In the show, the two main claimants as heirs to the throne are Rhaenys and Viserys. In the books people vote between Viserys and Laenor. I think this is a big distinction because it shows that even when there’s a woman claimant, she’s not even remotely considered, only her son. It also provides a good precedent for the greens to dispute the claim of Rhaenyra’s kids during the dance.
Overall the decision of the great council is a huge deal in F&B and is clearly stated to be one of the driving factors for the Green claim. The show makes it seem like the great lords passed over a woman, but the books show us that a woman would never even be considered, only her sons. This makes the decision for the greens to usurp Rhaenyra make much more sense. It’s one change I never quite understood, and it IMO makes Rhaenyra’s claim feel too incontestable. It’s such a huge deal that the lords would never even think to name a woman queen, to the point that Rhaenys has her claim completely tossed in the trash. It makes the decision of some lords to support Aegon make much more sense.
Anyway that’s the end of my short rant. I actually like HOTD. S3 has been very good IMO despite its differences and the occasional stupid writing.
If I could just not share the science score I would but princeton asks for you to send in scores
For reference my highest composite score was a 33, while my superscore is a 35. I'm not reporting science though. Do t20 schools even care about the composite, or do they just check your highest score in each category?
Schools:
-Duke, Northwestern, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, UNC, plus some in-state safeties
Intended Major(s): Music, Econ
ACADEMICS
Unweighted GPA: 3.88
Weighted GPA: 4.56/5.00
Class Rank: Top 15% out of 600
Course Rigor:
- AP: French (4), World (5), Precalc (4), Lang (5), Human Geo (5), AB, APUSH (5), Lit, Music Theory, Statistics
- IB: Film
- Dual Enrollment: 6 community college courses
ACT: 33 composite, 35 superscore
-34 English
-34 Math
-36 Reading
-28 Science 😬 (not reporting)
EXTRACURRICULARS
Essay: Connecting music to my identity. Still figuring it out in full….
Obviously very music heavy. Tried to take “find a spike” as literally as I could. Applying at a music major at t20 schools so I can do econ LOL. Some don’t have a jazz program but certain schools place more emphasis than others. I’m mostly wondering how much music could help me get into the most elite schools since I do have decent academics at a pretty competitive school.
I’ve been seeing recently that a strong ACT score isn’t valued as much as a good SAT score because the ACT is commonly viewed by top colleges as easier. I got a 35 on the act which I was pretty happy with but now I’m worried I should’ve taken the SAT instead.
Anybody have some sort of input on this?
What career paths can come out of econ at chapel hill?