Music Supplements

[TheFellowMello]

<p>-Flute for nine years
-Piccolo for six years
-Have played at the state level once with the ensemble
-Have gotten into SoCal's band individually (difficult because I auditioned on flute and there are not many spots)
-In a community symphony
-Mellophone for fun (haha)
-Marching band for four years and section leader for two years (not incredibly relevant)
-3x outstanding musician award </p>

<p>-If you are not planning to be a music major, but have been playing it and are considered the best in your high school's ensemble (no intention to brag at all, just to give you a reference), would you recommend submitting a music supplement? It takes lots of time and preparation and I'm not sure if I should spend my time on it.
-Is there any way music supplements could hurt your application, or do they only help?
-How much of an impact would the music supplement help your audition if the music department is happy about it?</p>

<p>Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!</p>

[Ctesiphon]

<p>If your tentative university allow you to send a music supplement that is NOT used solely for admission to their School of Music, it’s not entirely a bad idea. A music supplement could potentially hurt your application if you simply don’t play it well. Treat it like any other music competition. It would definitely make you stand out. If the music department likes it, it will give you quite an edge up for admission at selective universities. It will not, however, make up for lack in your other academic areas.</p>

[skieurope]

<p>If your ability is truly exceptional and will enhance your application, include a supplement; if not, don’t. Here is what [url=<a href=“http://admissions.yale.edu/supplementary]Yale[/url”>http://admissions.yale.edu/supplementary]Yale[/url</a>] says (emphasis mine):</p>

<p>

Yale College does not conduct musical auditions for applicants. Music faculty members will review selected audio recordings or scores from advanced musicians, whether or not they wish to major in music as undergraduates. Please consider sending musical materials only if your accomplishments are truly outstanding for a high school musician and if your playing or composing is a strong and important part of your application. Submissions that demonstrate an average or merely competent level of ability for a high school musician will not help your application.

If you decide to send a supplement, follow the college’s submission policy to the letter. If they want audio only, don’t send video. If they want an mp3 file, don’t send a CD.</p>

[TheFellowMello]

<p>@‌skieurope Thanks! I read on Stanford’s music website, “If the audition is given a strong evaluation, the Office of Undergraduate Admission will consider it along with the applicant’s other materials.” Do you know if this means that the music department will only send it to admissions if they like the audition? Aka, the audition will not be seen by admissions unless the music department approves first? </p>

[skieurope]

<p>I can’t speak specifically for Stanford, but realize that AO’s are generally not experts in the fields of music/art/dance/theatre. For that reason, they send the supplements off to experts for evaluation. The person evaluating the material will send admissions a grade/scale of the supplement based upon the criteria of the individual school.</p>

<p>Not all schools will send all supplements for evaluation. [url=<a href=“http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/apply/supplements]Penn[/url”>http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/apply/supplements]Penn[/url</a>] comes to mind.

We cannot guarantee that non-required documents will be reviewed during the application process.

Understandable. AO’s need to ensure that the applicant’s stats are within reason before asking colleagues to go out of their way to make evaluations.</p>

[TheFellowMello]

<p>@skieurope This helps a lot. Thank you!</p>