After a brief hiatus and a flight across the globe, the one and only Elias Miller is back - and he’s ready to find your spike! In this series you’ve come to know and, dare we say, love, Elias breaks down your live chat submissions with free, golden advice on how to improve your profile. He’ll be focusing on spikes, which are extracurricular elements that make your application stand out to admissions officers. This is a very interactive session and Elias will not be holding back - so come prepared to hear his expert insight and possibly receive some life-changing advice.
Undergrad College: Harvard University '17
Major: Music
Graduate College: University of Michigan, M.M.
Work Experience: Now in my fourth year at CollegeVine, I have helped dozens of students gain acceptance to their top-choice schools and have also advised and mentored thousands more through my livestreams. Apart from my work at CV, I am also a professional conductor and a multi-instrumentalist. I currently serve as the music director of the Apollo Ensemble of Boston, and I have led symphonic concerts and operatic productions throughout the United States.
My Admissions Story: Initially interested in pursuing a career as a performing cellist, I applied almost exclusively to music schools with dual and double degree options and ultimately enrolled in the Tufts University/New England Conservatory Dual Degree Program. Unhappy with the combined program and worried I'd never feel like I was fully a student at either school, I logged back into CommonApp.org in October of my freshman year. I can't say I went about the transfer process in the smartest way (I only applied to two schools!), but Harvard miraculously accepted me (or 'excepted me' as I wrote in a celebratory Facebook post that day - no one ever let me live that one down), and the rest was history.