learn to play the viola

I played for three years (never practiced) and started playing again after a break of two years. I am now playing in high school and am having great difficulty. I am trying to practice more often now, but my orchestra teacher dislikes me a great deal and always makes me do solos in front of the class to embarrass me (because I am really bad and the people around me have one countless awards and go to competitions al over the world). I would love to quit, but I desperately want to go to Yale University, and music is always a great thing to put on an application. However, I do not hold the primary position, so I am starting to think that this might weaken my application. What do I do???