<p>Hi all,
I applied to Brown ED, and I e-mailed the guy who listens to my music supplement. I recorded classical and jazz trumpet. he responded and said he gave his highest possible recommendation and talked with an adcom and left “optimistic” What does this mean?!?!?!</p>
<p>That means good things! Music supplements do make a difference - when the applicant is good enough, it can mean the extra push towards an acceptance. Good job and good luck!</p>
<p>thank you! my scores are within range, my interviewer said I did very well and made the conversation enjoyable. how much can the music supplement really make a difference? like, what if many people were highly recommended??</p>
<p>Music supplements can make a difference if you are REALLY good (I.E. for all-state or national musician). However, if you’re just mediocre to good, it can actually hurt because it annoys the adcoms >.<.</p>
<p>It sounds like yours probably helped though :)</p>
<p>i was all-state lead jazz in 11th grade but not this year. would it make THE difference? like, can I get my hopes up?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t assume you’ve gotten in. Don’t assume anything until you’ve seen it. I know good musicians who sent in supplements that didn’t make the difference. But know that you’ve done your best to get in.</p>
<p>so it probably didn’t make much of a difference?</p>
<p>That doesn’t mean it didn’t make a difference! It just won’t be the “one thing” that gets you into Brown - it’s a little piece of a huge amount of information about you that you presented in your application.</p>
<p>Who was the guy who listened to your tape? If it was jazz, I’m guessing Matt McGarrell listened to your tape. I don’t think Paul listens to the wind tapes, even if they are classical – I’m guessing he does the strings while Arlene does the pianos. </p>
<p>I know for a fact that Brown no longer takes “plugs” from academic departments/clubs – for example, a while ago, the Classics department could go to admissions and request “N” number of classics students and even student organizations such as the Brown Band (which, given, was apparently pretty influential back in the days) could go and request tuba or trombone players or something like that. </p>
<p>I don’t know if the “official” musical ensembles (Wind and Jazz Ensemble or Orchestra) still have some power within admissions – I guess they do to a certain extent as musical supplements are obviously evaluated by music professors. My impression, though, is that they’re less powerful than they were a few decades back. But every little thing helps, right? 
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<p>Good luck! Hope to see you in band/orchestra next year!</p>
<p>Mihan: is it actually Paul and Arlene (and others) who listen to the supps? I was always under the impression that it was a member of the admissions staff who knows something about music. That was probably a dumb assumption, but I’d never thought about it being them! Weird now that I know them…</p>
<p>I know that Paul listens to the string tapes 'cause he’s mentioned it before (and am also pretty sure that he didn’t listen to my tape, which was a wind tape). That’s why I assumed that Matt listened to the winds and Arlene to the pianos. Of course, I might be wrong…Perhaps only a few tapes are forwarded from the admissions committee after a crude assessment of quality from musically inclined members??</p>
<p>I know – it is bizarre thinking that we know these people now…I remember being completely intimidated simply from thinking to email them with a few questions, haha…</p>
<p>Music and visual arts are entirely different departments, but do you think submitting a visual portfolio might have a similar effect?</p>
<p>Hi Catherine,</p>
<p>Submitting anything isn’t going to make a “sure” change to your application status, unless you’re a professional musician/artist or something. I think it won’t hurt your application at all.</p>
<p>Just corroborating what Bruno said- I’ve heard an admissions officer say even if you send in the WORST musical/artistic supplement in the world, it cannot hurt your application.</p>
<p>If you send in a music tape, it is sent to someone in the appropriate department. They fill out a form and give you a number, like from 1 to 10. But even getting a high number may not help you if there are weaknesses in your application.</p>
<p>I don’t know how art portfolios are handled.</p>