General Advice regarding Arts Supplement

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>Hi all,
(repost from Harvard sub-forum)</p>

<p>I was wondering, what is the general guideline regarding the Arts supplement?</p>

<p>I'd rate myself as an above average pianist (no competitions though, just 10 years of playing and a certification of graduation from the Royal Conservatory of Music) and sent a CD to Harvard EA.</p>

<p>Was it a wise move? What I mean is, is it generally only musical superstars who send in their recordings, and thus, making mine look pale in comparison? I got deferred, so I was wondering if that could have HURT me instead.</p>

<p>Also, I'm considering sending the CD to other RD applications (such as Yale RD) and would like a second opinion on whether or not I should go for it. BTW, I am not considering going into music as a major. (most likely majoring in Economics)</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I wouldn't send it to your RD schools. My understanding is that unless you are near conservatory quality, it's not a wise move. I'm not familiar with other schools, but Yale discourages supplemental material, so if you're going to send somthing in, it had better be well worth the admissions officers' time. In the case of a CD, it gets forwarded to music faculty who rate your talent and report back to admissions. Taking up everyone's time with something that isn't top quality could aggravate an admissions officer and not put him/her in the proper frame of mind to read your application. That being said, if the rest of your application is amazing, it would be lame for Harvard to ding you just for sending in a CD.</p>