Hi everyone! I was deferred early action from Yale, and hope to send in updates/a letter of continued interest this week (I wanted to wait until the influx of additional materials calmed down a bit). Since the EA deadline, I’ve finished preparing two violin solo pieces and recorded both professionally. Music is a significant part of my life that I think I failed to emphasize in my EA application, so I would very much like to submit this supplement. That being said, I have a few questions:
Is it possible to send in a music supplement as additional material? I know that they are usually submitted through Slideroom, which is now closed and which I wouldn't have access to anyway, since I didn't indicate that I planned to submit an arts supplement the first round.
If possible, would it be looked upon favorably? Or would the adcom find it annoying that I'm sending it in now?
What is the best method of submission? To my knowledge, I can either submit it as an attachment to an email or in CD form via snail mail. My worry with both these options is that they will be lost in the sea of correspondence. Plus I'm planning on faxing my letter so that it reaches them immediately & physically, so the two would arrive separately.
I’ve looked through Yale’s website and various other sources, and haven’t been able to find anything concrete. I would much appreciate it if someone could answer these questions definitively. I just really want to get into Yale, and looking back, my early apps definitely weren’t as refined as they could’ve been.
Also another quick question – at what point are extra materials considered superfluous? There’s an essay that I want to submit that I feel highlights my voice (& writing ability) much more than my common app & supplemental essay for Yale did, but I don’t want to cross the edge from invested to naggy. I can PM this essay along with my others to anyone who would be willing to evaluate whether it adds something of consequence to my application.
Eeek this ended up being really long. To anyone who’s read the whole thing – THANK YOU! Thank you very much.
I’m not sure anyone outside of the Yale admissions committee can give you the answer you want; but it seems to me that you are on a very, very slippery slope.
It is clearly acceptable to upload onto your admissions portal a letter showing continued interest to a school after being deferred; it is also acceptable to update the admissions committee of significant events and honors which have occurred since you applied. Being named an Intel STS semifinalist/finalist, for example, could have a significant impact when your application is re-evaluated by the committee.
Sending tons of supplemental materials - especially ones that had a deadline on them - seems much less clear-cut. There was a deadline, after all. You had a chance to portray yourself through your essays, so I would think that sending another essay that you think does a better job would not generally be welcome. It would basically give you an unfair advantage over other applicants, who were limited to “playing by the rules”.
As for your music “supplement”, the deadline for submission to Yale has passed for that as well. I find your statement “I’ve finished preparing two violin solo pieces and recorded both professionally. Music is a significant part of my life that I think I failed to emphasize in my EA application” to be very curious. Why did you not emphasize this in your application if it is so important to you, and given Yale’s prominence in this area? What did you emphasize? Did you “professionally” record the pieces for admissions purposes, or as part of something else? Changing your focus can create the impression of someone who does not have a clear direction, or who is doing things mainly to impress the adcom; trying to submit past the deadline can create the impression that you are trying to cheat the system.
Again, I don’t have any insider knowledge. But I would be cautious of doing the things you propose. What I would suggest is that you upload a letter stating your continued interest, and that you mention that you have been busy and productive, and mention your violin recordings, offering to make them available if it would be helpful to the committee. That way they are aware of your activity, but it doesn’t come across that you are trying to sneak a supplement in past the deadline.
Pretty much for every person on CC who I reply to on a “chance” thread or work with directly, one of my first and strongest pieces of advice is coming up with a clear and coherent narrative about who they are and what is important to them. It sounds like you didn’t do that - or if you did, you are trying to change the narrative. My guess is that an adcom would take the view that your application was your chance to showcase yourself, and if you didn’t do a good job of it and are trying to change it now, that’s a strong sign that you may not belong at Yale.
Two years ago a very talented friend of my daughters applied to Yale SCEA and was deferred. Her GC called to inquire and the main response was “her music supplement did not help her.”
A friend of my niece played cello at Yale, but cello was her life - that’s what she did prior to college - school and cello lessons, with aspirations to join a symphony.
@renaissancedad My musical experience was definitely present on the application – I listed my orchestral involvement & honors in the activities section of the CommonApp, and part of my CommonApp essay dealt with the impact of music on me. However, I feel that the recordings would have tied all of that together and made it REAL, in a sense. Why didn’t I have the recordings by then? I just wasn’t ready by then, and thought that the advantages of applying early action would outweigh the opportunity cost of the recordings. My teacher has all of her students record repertoire their senior year of high school – it’s a tradition of sorts – so that’s why I had them recorded. I realize that “professional” sounds sketchy, but what I meant by that was that they are high-quality, studio recordings into which I put a lot of work. They weren’t something done carelessly or thoughtlessly.
What I DID emphasize on my app (written portion) were topics of personal significance that couldn’t be found on my activities list or transcript. I’m not sure that the violin supplements would be a shift in focus, since my violin achievements are clear in the objective section of my application and something I touched on in my CommonApp. I don’t plan on majoring in music, but I do plan to take advantage of extracurricular orchestras/chamber groups in college. Knowing this, would you still say that it’s unwise to send it?
I do agree with you on the additional essay. I won’t be sending that haha. I needed advice like yours – an attempt to “cheat” the system is exactly the message I’m trying to veer away from. So thank you!
@arwarw Thank you for your advice! I didn’t realize that a music supplement could hurt a student that much, to the point where it’s a main cause for deferral.
The pieces I recorded are Ravel’s Tzigane and Bach’s Partita No. 2. The Tzigane is definitely a technical beast: it showcases double stops, rapid runs, etc. but also relies heavily on musicality and interpretation. Lots of personal taste figures into it. Partita No. 2 is pretty common and not particularly challenging note-wise, but it’s Bach. And you can tell when someone understands how to play Bach.
I would not send your recordings, given the circumstances you describe. You might call the admissions office and explain to them that your teacher has students make high quality recordings and that her schedule did not make them available by the supplement deadline, and ask whether they would possibly accept a late supplement with an explanatory letter from your teacher. But unless they made an exception (which I would think very unlikely) I wouldn’t try to bypass the system. You made a choice to apply early, and it sounds like that may have caused you to not put together your best application. I think you’re probably going to have to live with that, and hopefully learn from it.
If you didn’t already have a supplementary letter of recommendation, you could possibly have your violin teacher send one separately. That would probably be more effective than trying to circumvent the music supplement procedure.
@renaissancedad I think I will do what you suggested earlier and mention the recordings in my letter of continued interest. Thank you for your help!
It’s frustrating, because I know regardless of what school I applied to EA, I probably would have regretted certain things I did/didn’t do in my application afterwards. It’s not that I didn’t have enough time – I spent a lot of time on my EA (probably more than RD) and had many people go over it, but I still feel that my RD applications are much stronger.
@theleenbean conventional wisdom seems to be that supplements can’t hurt you, but if my kid was applying I would want her to really understand what Yale’s directions mean before offering a recording that’s graded by a Yale music prof - - who is likely also evaluating recordings from and currently teaching conservatory-level artist who aspire to play professionally.
Yale says: “You may consider submitting a recording of your playing, or a musical score, as part of your application to Yale College if it demonstrates a high level of musical ability” And “You should consider submitting work only if your playing or composing is a strong and important part of your application and demonstrates a high level of artistry for a high school musician.”
What is Yale’s expectation for “high level of musical ability” and “artistry” ? What does “strong and important part of your application” mean to Yale (not to the applicant)? I don’t know, but I’d research and try to find out.
Next, I’d recommend getting independent assessments of the recordings to see if they meet or exceed those expectations.
I wouldn’t want Yale admissions to conclude that my daughter didn’t understand the directions or that she had an inflated view of her musical abilities.
If her research and self assessment indicated that Yale’s direction and expectations matched well with the quality of the music and her overall narrative, I’d tell her to go for it, and try hard to get the recordings evaluated.
