I am a classical trained dancer for last 10 years. My teacher was ready to let me debut arangetram after my 10th grade summer (now) but due to pandemic many of the arangetrams got pushed out. I am skeptical about doing it either in winter break or summer after 11th due to how busy junior year is for me and also the summer after 11th to be busy with college applicaitons. I thought to do a wholesome good arangetram after my 12th grade in summer before collge.
However hear some opinions about college applicaitons and the benefit of arangetram on those and the ability to upload a video/create a portfolio. This makes me worry about not having one such for mine. Can you please suggest -
- the importance of aragetram if necessary to have done before applying for college? In other words should I push to do after 11th grade summer?
- If not, is there an option to show the years of training , readiness and explain the situation and preparation for arangetram after 12th with some solid options or portfolio or video?
FYI, general question I just created tag for the sake of it
Thank you
Hi, I donât have a lot of specific guidance I can give, but I didnât want your question to go unanswered.
I have attended one arangetram before. I was good friends with the mom through our younger children. I have some sense of the years of training that go into being ready and the scope of the event itself. For the one I went to, it was after 12th grade. Like you, she was ready earlier, but there was always this or that making scheduling tough. (She was a superstar student and was very busy with STEM research, etc).
Being busy your Junior year is definitely a consideration. However, you want to make excellent use of that summer between 11th and 12th. Applying to colleges is really not a full time activity for 10 weeks. That summer, you should work at a job, do volunteer work (possibly a passion project rather than âphone-it-in hoursâ), or do some sort of intellectual enrichment. Preparing for an arangetram could be your âthingâ. Perhaps you could schedule it for late July/early August to take a bit of pressure off of your spring?
Itâs ok not to do it that summer; I just hope you have plans for that summer besides writing essays.
That said, if you do it after graduation, you can absolutely write about your years of training, #hours in lessons each week, practicing and rehearsals, other performances (?) as applicable. You could say you are preparing for an arangetram, which is scheduled for July 2024 (or whatever).
It is a huge accomplishment, and it would be nice to be able to put it on the application. If you canât make it happen, all the hard work you have put in is still to your credit.
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I just noticed you put this under Dance Majors. If you intend to major in dance, my advice may not fit.
If you donât, you might move this question to the college admissions section.
From other posts, I am not sure whether I am talking to the parent or the student, but either way: the short answer is it depends a lot on what the schools are.
Given the focus on rigor in other posts, and the mention of pre-med, Iâm going to guess that you all are looking at academically selective undergrad schools, not dance programs. If that is the case, then when- and frankly, even whether - the Arangtram is done is unlikely to have a meaningful impact on the admissions outcome. Practically speaking, all of the admissions âbenefitâ has already been achieved: the actual long, deep involvement, the ability to write about what it means to / how it is shaped the student, even the ability to write about delaying with covid disruptions are all already there.
I agree with @Parent42 though: not doing something substantive with the gift of time that is the summer after grade 11 would be a mistake, and from the pov of admissions, spending the whole summer writing application essays is not something substantive.
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I had to look up what an arrangetram was but agree you can do it the summer between 11th and 12th assuming you keep up your training during junior year. If youâre planning to provide dance supplements to colleges (which you should) it doesnât have to be professionally done or a formal performance. My daughter choreographed a short piece (which honestly wasnât that great at that point though she later expanded it into a piece that was amazing) and someone filmed it on an iPhone. She then included excerpts from the previous yearâs studio performance. The videographer from the performance was willing to work with her, though it was hard to schedule and she never got everything she asked for. But I still think it helped her application. She also got a rec letter from the director of her studio who talked about her dedication, etc., as well as her talent. Finally, if you donât already, a good way to show leadership is to be a teacherâs asst for younger classes.
This post is supposed to be under college section but apparently has been moved to dance major. I want to clarify , not planning to be a dance major but pre med career path. For the original post, I should have mentioned that about pre med rather too. Thank you all for your time / guidance and if you can please share thoughts on if this is a pre med then would it make sense to use the summer after 11th for research/volunteering and college apps and then do the arangetram after 12th. Thank you.
Makes no difference. Arangetram is a big accomplishment, but its something that lots of other kids do. Its one of many ECs that are well regarded. But it probably wonât be the deciding factor.
Struggling to understand the link between the arangetram and pre-med. Do you think the admissions people will see you as a better fit?
It looks like the category was updated. Iâve fixed this for you.
Thank you for fixing the post location
Me too struggling on the connection. Just that peers with same aspiration of med path have prioritized to finish arangetram by 10th grade stating that it will be a great add to port folio and out of the way etc. and that made my family think through this one more time. Are we doing any mistake by delaying till after 12th or is it ok, hope that clarifies 
Arangetram is not going to make or break your application for a pre-med major in a competitive college. However, it is a good extra-curricular activity and you can write about it for a lot of college essay prompts.
Having said that, there is a lot of efforts and focus required for Arangetram. If you think this will affect your academics, college application process or other academic activities, it is not a good idea to do during Junior year. A community college course or research project during summer adds more value than arangetram to your college application.
Even without arangetram, you can write about your dance experience over the years and what you have learnt from it on your college applications which can add a lot of value.
I suggest you do your arangetram at a time when you feel most comfortable and relaxed to do it and do not tie in with college application.
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Imagine if youâre a college admissions reader. And youâre reading all the apps from a suburban HS with lots of desis. About two-thirds are applying pre-med, and they all have great grades and test scores. For the girls, nearly half are doing bharatnathyam and other classical dance.
By copying exactly what your peers are doing, youâre making yourself more like them. And making it harder for the admissions reader to see why you are special. You need to stand out. Do something different. There is no need to copy or be like everyone else.
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