I don’t necessarily want to study creative writing in college, but it’s one of my more important extracurricular activities. Do you think it’s worth submitting a 2 to 3 page supplement of some of my best work? Or will having really great essays/creative writing listed in my extracurriculars be enough? My fear is that my creative writing isn’t strong enough to truly help me and will just make my application unnecessarily longer. Do supplements have that much value?
I would just list it on your application. Admissions officers are not looking for more things to read.
Yeah, unless you’re applying to a specific creative writing program I wouldn’t recommend that. For what it’s worth, my school has a creative writing major that you have to apply for (all types of art majors are audition-based in one way or another), and that’s when you submit your samples. But unless you’re going to a school where you have to declare your major immediately, I don’t think it’s necessary.
Admissions officers don’t like getting even more stuff to read- unless it is specifically allowed by the school, I wouldn’t send anything.
I generally agree with the above, but I have seen it help in the past. To help, though, it had better be damn good.
I am also wondering about this question on behalf of my creative writer daughter. Aside from burdening the admissions officers with extra material, I worry about the inherent subjectivity of judging artistic work. She’s had a piece that many loved–and some didn’t–where the subjectivity was pretty evident. I am thinking that in many areas, people simply report recognition they received for their work rather than submitting the work itself and expecting the adcoms to judge it or find someone willing to judge it. Is writing different?
@mathyone I was speaking with my godmother, who is a Georgetown professor, and she cautioned me about subjectivity as well. She said that students should be cautious with the subject of their work and take into account the kind of school receiving the work. For example, Georgetown’s a jesuit institution, which is something she advised me to keep in mind when choosing what kind of work the school would appreciate.