My D was debating; should she submit a visual arts supplement? She submitted her artwork to her art teacher, who, in a nutshell. said “submit, otherwise you are just a piece of paper.” She is a good artist, but not great. She is also white, has excellent grades and high SATs and APs, lots of AP classes, and a solid list of extra curriculars. In short, she is in a very competitive group of girls. She is applying to Carleton, Tufts, Bates, Oberlin, Kenyon, Brown, William and Mary, and five match and “safety” schools, all LACs. She thinks not being “great” in art could actually hurt her. I think her art clearly shows ability and adds an extra dimension to her application. She loves art, and I think her work shows that. Advice is appreciated, as she is now refusing to submit a supplement.
I’ve heard both arguments – that one should only submit artistic supplements if it’s of superior caliber (i.e conservatory).
Yet, I also heard a Yale admissions rep say – “please send us samples of what’s important to you – even if you’re not going to continue in dance/music/art. It helps me understand you as a person.”
That was one person’s perspective. Perhaps other readers feel too much can water down one’s app. It’s hard to say. I favor the Yale rep’s perspective – even if the stuff isn’t going to wow anyone, it’s what’s meaningful to me. Certainly don’t send 50 slides – but a handful of well photographed slides can’t hurt – that’s my honest opinion.
Thanks @T26E4 , I like this. She is concerned about a watered down application, but she has only listed 8 activities on her app. I don’t think it is excessive, and she was going to submit four slides. She definitley has ability, and art is definitley important to her. A supplement is the only way she can prove it though, as her transcript is primairly full of academics.
I wouldn’t compel her to submit an arts supplement to any of the seven schools you mention. I realize other parents may feel differently. My own view is that it is her application, and she should frame it the way she wants.
Putting together an arts supplement that will actually make a difference requires a lot of work. I suspect your daughter recognizes this, and is choosing to put her time in elsewhere, such as in her essays. She has great scores, a good selection of elite schools and matches. I would just let this one go.
I had read most supplements are not reviewed so we tried an experiment with my son. He was a good high school actor, , especially around comedy. He improv(ed) (one take) a funny, witty video response to a supplemental question from one school and decided to submit it to all the schools. Instead of uploading the video directly, he was given permission from each school to upload a word doc with a link to a youtube video.
youtube offers free google analytics which allows the owner to track number of views/duration/geography of viewers. He submitted to 7 schools, one school watched the video for 42 seconds and that was it.
So our experiment, with its admittedly small sample size, confirms art supplements (for non-art majors) aren’t usually viewed. however, I don’t understand your d’s objection. It can’t possibly hurt her application and perhaps there’s a small probability it will help. I did read somewhere that if you’re applying to say yale, you’d better have something for them to see…say on the jurored award level.
Thanks all. Good points made by everyone. Because she knows many of these schools value art and talent, she thought it was a good idea initially, but she is aware that she isn’t truly gifted. Perhaps best to let her decide after all.
I can’t overstate how helpful it is to get feedback from CC members. This site is great.