Our child has a particular talent in one of the performing arts, but she has no interest in pursuing it at college, as she has been heavily involved in it most of her life, especially in HS. My dh thinks having this talent will make her desirable to colleges and I told him that unless she plans to use it in college in some way they could care less. I was under the impression that colleges want people who will bring their special talents to campus and make a contribution with it. Thanks for your input.
My vote is with you not your husband.
The answer will be specific to each college.
At some colleges, it will not matter because they consider only high school record and/or test scores. At others, it may matter, and some of them may care more than others whether the applicant is likely to continue doing whatever it is while in college. An example of where they do care is if the talent is in a sport that the college is specifically trying to recruit for its teams.
Here is a real life example I know of:
- Talent is acting
- Appeared in major theatre production
- 1430 SAT, 4.0 GPA
- Accepted into an Ivy... the one that really likes this EC Don't know if they are still doing this in college. I suspect yes because they were ridiculously good in the H.S. Musical.
If your child has a talent and wants to keep it up in college, but not major in it, I do think they look at it as a positive. Lots of talented kids want to continue their theater, music, dance at school but also major in something completely different. Some schools are looking for that – I can think of Wesleyan, Skidmore, Sarah Lawrence, in particular where they really liked my kid’s talent, but knew they wouldn’t necessarily continue with it after college. Also makes for a more well rounded package. But if she doesn’t pursue it at college, that is her choice. She should mention it because it is part of who she is now.
“but she has no interest in pursuing it at college”
I took the OP’s post to mean that the daughter wasn’t planning to pursue it in college either as a major/minor or as an EC. Perhaps OP can clarify.
Presumably she doesn’t intend to write her essays about how much she’s looking forward to never doing that activity again. I don’t see how the school would know one way or the other what her intentions are.
A special talent with noteworthy evidences of accomplishments can really help. You don’t have to declare that you will not major in that talent area, say theater or music. You don’t have to declare that you will not participate in any of the school’s EC’s relate to that talent, either. My son’s talent in music, I believe, was a key in his successful applications.
If the talent is an athletic one then if the student is recruited on the basis of it the school will expect her to continue on their teams. On the other hand if it is something like acting or art as in this case then very selective colleges may be happy to admit a student with that kind of talent even if they plan to major on something else in college. A point of college is to expose students to new ideas and areas; it sounds like your D just got there early.
If it is something like dance/ballet, I really think to have some big pull with admissions it requires more than just list things on your application. To maximize any pull it might have, IMO it requires sending video, meeting with the director of the dance department, taking a class while on campus, etc.
Not mentioning the talent at all would be a huge mistake. Even if she doesn’t plan to pursue this talent, her involvement in the past can be used to show longevity and commitment. She doesn’t have to highlight it, using it as a basis for an essay for instance, but it still should appear on her applications.
Unless mentioned in an essay, there is no way the college is aware whether or not your daughter plans to pursue said talent as an EC. Either way, having this talent does not hurt and will likely help!
Aside from whether or not your daughter intends to pursue her talent in college, I think the fact that she was “heavily involved in it most of her life” would be a plus for many schools that look beyond test scores and GPAs. It demonstrates that your daughter has not only that talent, but also the dedication, discipline, and passion to sustain an interest over a long period of time – a good set of qualities for any prospective college student. My own daughter was in a similar situation – she’s been singing in regional choirs since second grade, and has spent probably an average of three hours a week in rehearsals or performances since then. That’s a significant commitment of time over the years. She did because she loved it – and it’s made her a fine vocalist, provided her with a great musical education, and exposed her to all sorts of experiences she would not otherwise have had. It is highly unlikely she will pursue voice in college, but she certainly mentioned it either in application essays or under extracurriculars. I’d like to think that a college would look favorably upon any high school student who demonstrates such application – in the arts or sports or other areas.
I think anything that a young person has been heavily involved with tells an important part of their story, whether they continue that activity in college or not. She will bring what she has learned from that experience with her wherever she goes. If your daughter chooses to mention this pursuit in any of her college writing, I would encourage her to think about how it has shaped her as a person, not to focus on making any declarations about her future involvement. An arts supplement can only help her chances.
Thank you all for your helpful responses. Just to clarify, she goes to what is considered a dual-mission HS, since the focus is on both academics and the arts. So the colleges will fully understand that she’s serious about this. The thing is, I was suggesting that if she sends a video in to a couple of schools that have arts merit scholarships it would give her an edge. She refused. I mentioned that if she minored in dance it would only be 18 credits over a 4yr period, but she absolutely refuses even if it would help her.
On decision day, May 1st all the seniors at her school wore t-shirts from the colleges they are going to and she came home telling me how many kids are going to ivies. I explained to her that the colleges need students with artistic talents so it probably gave them an edge. Still, she does not want to even dance as a hobby. Maybe it’s burnout. Alas, as was mentioned above it might show she has been dedicated and disciplined over the years, but without a video or a meeting with dance faculty it probably won’t help her.
I think it can make the application stand out and be memorable, compared to all the other applications that are typical. Oh, that’s the harpist! Yes, Susan from Kansas who is the drum majorette! The bagpipe player who marched in 15 parades on St. Patrick’s day.
It can only help. I disagree with you that they won’t care, but I don’t think it is the red carpet your husband thinks it might be.
mentioning it as an EC is one thing, but applying for art merit scholarships may say/imply more about her future participation. I suggest reviewing all the material for these scholarships before applying. Make sure there are no explicit/implicit strings.
Maybe. Take what HS kids say with a grain of salt. Read this forums and you’d think every 4th or 5th adult you meet would be a doctor 
Plans have a way of changing. Maybe your D never dances again, maybe she takes it up. I wouldn’t read what she says now as a permanent and irrevocable choice.
My daughter was accepted for engineering but is a very talented musician and was super involved with theater. She was offered the opportunity to apply for some scholarships but they were for the non majors and only required “club level” participation.
There’s a lot of discussion about this at our ballet studio right now. Some girls go on to get a BFA but some do not. D21’s preprofessional program requires 25-30 hours of dance per week and more during Nutcracker and spring shows. They dance for paying audiences in our major metropolitan area. Some of the dancers are homeschooled but some are not. Our daughter and a good handful of the kids go to our local uber competitive public high school and are honors students with heavy loads. D21 has already decided that she doesn’t want to major in dance.
Although I know that her EC is good for her and she loves it, I do wonder what colleges will think she will bring to campus if she doesn’t dance there. I wonder if they will think it’s odd that she spent so much time doing ballet and won’t pursue it past senior year. Our S19 is looking at LACs and it seems she will go that route as well. Many of the schools she’s liked when we’ve visited do not even have dance (or if they do, it’s not ballet and it seems that many of the dancers have not learned ballet technique).
I’ve read a lot about how LACs want to know how you will contribute on campus. We’ve been trying to find other interests for her to pursue but she has so little time. She likes to write so she may try to write for the newspaper when she can and she’s on a junior board for our local community house. It does have us worried though. Why would a school want a ballerina with awesome grades and scores if they don’t offer ballet? Her “special” talent won’t be something she “brings to campus”.
If a school offers the opportunity to enhance the application in some way, why would anyone not take advantage of it? In holistic admissions everything counts!
Sending an arts supplement to demonstrate her talent in no ways obligates her to dance in college.
My oldest submitted piano supplements and featured his accomplishments and involvement on the CA; he hasn’t touched a piano since high school.