(Non Major) Supplement Questions

Hi all, I hope I’m putting this in the right place:

I’m considering submitting vocal supplements for a few schools I’m applying to (Vassar, Brown, possibly Williams). I’m not pursuing a music major but most likely a minor and I will definitely be joining choral/a capella groups in college. As a background, I’ve been playing piano for 10 years, have been singing in school choirs all my life, and took AP Music Theory last year (3 Aural, 5 Nonaural, 4 overall).

I’ve read a lot of conflicting opinions about submitting supplements. I’m unsure as I’ve never taken private voice lessons outside of school or won any awards, and I stopped participating in NYSSMA in 9th grade so I haven’t been to All County or All State in high school. I think my submission would be good, but many of the Slideroom questions ask about formal training and years studied, so I’m afraid of sending in a portfolio and appearing unprofessional or subpar.

Thank you for any help, I’m having a hard time finding answers on the internet regarding my questions.

If you are better than your resume would indicate, then submit a supplement. If your resume speaks accurately of or even artificially inflates expectations of what your talent is, don’t submit a supplement. You’ll probably need outside ears; maybe consult with your chorus teacher for an honest opinion of your level.

@NJNYvt I think I’m better than my resume would indicate, but I will ask my chorus teacher. If I do submit a supplement, does formal training only refer to out of school private lessons? And would “years studied” apply to years in choir overall or years since I started doing NYSSMA and taking singing more seriously?

To me that formal training question is sort of open to interpretation. Usually it means private lessons, whether in or out of school, and you’d answer the years studied question accordingly. Others may disagree, but if you’re still working out technical issues, for myself as a teacher, I’d rather see someone untrained with a ton of potential than someone who was claiming years of training who made me wonder what they’d actually been working on in lessons all this time. (I hope that makes sense!)

@NJNYvt Thank you, that’s very helpful! I don’t want to put 0 years of formal training because I have taken personal lessons with my music teachers in school, but I don’t want to claim years of formal training, as you said.