<p>As a deferred applicant, I've been considering sending in a video of a group dance performance that I was in. I was the lead dancer in a dance performance which featured me and the other student leaders in my school, the purpose of which was to raise money for the Unicef chapter at our school. It must be stated, I am <em>not</em> a dancer, and from a technical or aesthetic perspective, my performance will not be impressive. However, I put a lot of effort into rehearsing this, we raised some decent funds, and I also recall hearing of people last year who were accepted after a deferral/off the waitlist, after submitting somewhat goofy and lighthearted supplementary material much like mine. Anyone know what I'm talking about?</p>
<p>One of the reasons for my deferral is that I think I may have come across as too serious, and perhaps a little dark in my application. This dance performance may show a lighter side of me.</p>
<p>Would sending this in work out in my favor?</p>
<p>No, I don’t think so. If the reason why it is impressive is because you put a lot of effort into it, that will just be clear from the EC part of your common application. The video won’t actually reflect that.</p>
<p>Here are some quotes from the Yale supplementary materials website:</p>
<p>“Supplementary submissions may make sense for students with substantial and well-developed talent that cannot be conveyed adequately in the rest of the application.”</p>
<p>“There are cases in which too many submissions, or submissions that do not reflect a high level of talent, can actually work against a candidate.”</p>
<p>If, as you say, you are not a talented dancer, then do not submit the video. Chances are they won’t even look at it. Out of curiosity, what was the goofy and lighthearted supplementary material others sent in?</p>
<p>It’s tempting to follow the example of other successful applicants–but you can’t know if they got in because of the unusual thing they did, or in spite of it.</p>