does quitting an EC look bad on your application?

honestly, if you still like playing your instrument, you shouldn't quit. Hermes some reasons why.

first of all, colleges take orchestra as an extracarricular in your application with high regards, especially if you are in the highest group. They'll understand how much dedication and time it takes to manage playing and they'll reward you for it. Secondly, (depends on how your school does it, but this is how my school does it), if you're in the top orchestra group, your class gets the equivalent number of credits as an honors credit class. That means if you have an A in the top orchestra class, boom, you have the most inflated gpa ever. That leads to the third reason, more As=higher gpa. Orchestra is probably one of the easiest classes there are in high school. Honestly, you can not know how to reach sheet music and still get an A in the class just by showing up. And having that A is good for your gpa ofc. And lastly, you have the chance of getting into distrct, state, or nationals, which is also really really good for the college transcript.

But what I said is just my opinion on why you shouldn't leave orchestra, but again in you really dread the entirety of it and playing too, you should leave. I'm only saying there's some reasons why you shouldn't leave because the benefits of staying in orchestra could outweigh the downside of just sucking it up for four years. Just saying.

Anyways, hope this helped! Good luck!!

As somebody who is also in orchestra/does music in a high school with a weak music program/teacher that doesn't care, I can really relate to you. I know a lot of people in my school who were in the same boat, too.

If you love music, I wouldn't quit your instrument; I would find resources outside of school instead of being in the school's orchestra. What myself and many people did was try joining a local youth orchestra, and if you have a tutor/teacher, discuss this with them. Try for non school-sponsored competitions (I know at least a couple youth orchestras where I live host their own concerto competitions), masterclasses, and festivals. These events will stand out in your application and you still get to be immersed in music. You can also explain this in the additional information section of your application that you really wanted to do something like All-state but were unable to enroll in music (I know a lot of people who did this).

Additionally, if you have time, start a music-related club (that's what I did). Maybe a small ensemble, or just a club where people who enjoy music meet and talk about it since the school is unable to provide that. This will stand out in your application as well and show that you have resilience and don't give up just because it is harder to find resources.

Hope this helps!

Quit.

Find something else you enjoy, this really won't hurt you. This is a very short answer, but that's the extent of it.