<p>Okay, so I know most schools are not so excited about supplemental materials, but I want to send:</p>
<li>One supplemental rec from my theater teacher</li>
<li>A tape of my strongest audition pieces to colleges where I’m not auditioning in person</li>
<li>A reel of my work as a writer in TV</li>
<li>A supplemental rec from one of my coworkers in the TV Dept. of the church where I worked. </li>
<li>A sample of some of my poetry</li>
</ol>
<p>Ridiculous. I know.</p>
<p>Here’s my reasoning, though: theater and writing are things that you can claim to do but can’t really prove you’re good at. I’m confident that I’ve got the talent and put in the work to become good at these things, but I don’t have that much of a way to prove it. Also, when I say that I worked as a writer\editor, that could just mean that papers shuffled across my desk and I edited them, or that I added a few lines of text to a commercial. I feel like a rec would demonstrate not only the extent of what I did, but the way I behaved on the job (I feel like my coworkers have a very good opinion of me).</p>
<p>So, can I get away with all of this, or will adcoms be so annoyed that they’ll reject me out of sheer irritation?</p>
<p>You're not going to be admitted/rejected based on how GOOD you are in theatre and TV (unless you're applying to a Drama major). Therefore your supplementals are superfluous in most cases. While the supplemental rec from the theatre teacher is fine, the TV coworker is over the line.</p>
<p>Your tapes will be disgarded b/c the adcoms won't take the time to verify your "skill" level. </p>
<p>Unless, you're majoring in drama, or drama is a clear passion for you, do not send them. </p>
<p>The teacher recs are probably the MOST important, while the counselor recs are still significant but not as important. Colleges want to see your characteristics and personal traits and who you ARE from recs. The teacher rec really shows how good of a student you are, how creative and impactful you are in class, and personality, while the counselor is more of a rec on your personality and how well you are involved with others and your school. However, recs don't do a good job of conveying passions and talent and achievement ,but honestly, your EC's should be able to do that. Unless those recs can convey another side of you, a signifnificant trait, or you can't write about it in your essay, then those will probably have next to no impact.</p>
<p>If schools have an arts supplement, they will often accept about a 10 minute DVD of your performances. You can mix and match your audition pieces and your TV work, or send one or the other. But send only one DVD.</p>
<p>Do not send your poetry. They will not evaluate it.</p>
<p>Send only one supplemental rec. They will not read everything.</p>
<p>Have a little compassion for the admissions folks and what they have to wade through for all their applicants.</p>
<p>And remember, there's an old saying in college admissions: The thicker the folder, the thicker the applicant. Less is more.</p>
<p>I guessed that was probably a little much---and if my rationale didn't work here on CC, then it almost certainly won't work on the adcoms; I suppose I'll cut it down then!</p>