Hi all.
I play a stringed instrument and have received many state-level accolades.
My target school is Wharton, and my private instructor has recommended that I contact the head of the strings department at Penn. What I would do is simply ask about their strings program, and try and make some sort of connection. I would inquire about the process of joining an orchestra etc.
Would contact with this sort of person have any influence on my acceptance to this school?
Most likely not. Usually the only people able to influence the adcom’s decision would be a coach/ athletics director. Plus, hate to break it to you but state level accolades are not impressive enough to warrant contacting someone from the department.
Hell, why not? It’s certainly worth a shot.
It can’t affect you negatively, so you’re not really risking much by contacting him/her. At schools like NYU, for example, professors in the performing arts departments can definitely be influential in the decision-making process. I’m not sure how influential this Penn professor may be, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to try! Good luck!
I think I will go ahead and contact this person, then. I am definitely not good enough to be a star recruit or anything, but maybe it will just be a good connection if I ever decide to be more involved in music.
Are you a senior who’s already applied or are you applying next year?
The best way to have admissions consider your music talent as a factor in the acceptance decision is through an arts supplement. The process for doing that is described here: http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/apply/supplements
It’s too late to submit the supplement for admissions applications for this year (unless you’re a transfer applicant), Perhaps when you (or possibly your private instructor) contact Penn’s music department they may allow you to submit the supplement “late”.