Sending Music Supplements Non Conservatory Level

Applying to College
1

Hello,

I’m an international student and I want to send music supplements to liberal arts colleges. However, due to my growing up in a village with no music resources, I could not study in a conservatory and I did not have any awards. The only impressive things I did was being chosen as my school’s concert pianist(I performed all over the city to represent my high school in events), getting a scholarship to study in a boarding school w/ one of the best music programs in the U.S, and also attending an international classical music festival where I took masterclasses from top virtuosos from all over the world. I think in my circumstances, such as growing up without any resources and my peers not playing piano or not having an interest in classical music at all, I’m competent. But if colleges will compare me with people who went to conservatories for a significant time, I’ll not stand out and maybe it’ll affect me negatively.

My country also doesn’t fund music as much as it funds religious stuff (my country has been defunding music these past years; they’re becoming anti-west). How do you think I can show the circumstances I was in to the colleges so that they judge my playing in the context of my education?

Thank you! I appreciate your thoughts on this.

2

A musical performance is judged strictly by its musical merit. It makes no difference whether you went to a conservatory or not and it makes no difference what country you’re from, what circumstances you had to face, etc. If your musical supplement is at a high level, then do submit it. You don’t want to submit something at an average high school level and use limited spaces in your application to explain away why your music is just average.

3

You don’t. @TiggerDad is absolutely correct. Whether your circumstances are worth mentioning in an essay is another question, but arts supplements will be viewed without any backstory.

4

@actscholar33 - you sound like a very interesting person and college applicant! Your private piano/music teachers are the best source of advice regarding this decision to submit a music video along with your college applications. If you have been accepted to summer music festivals and performed in master classes with notable pianists, your playing may very well be good enough to submit a video that would complement a Common App essay about what music means to you and the challenges you have faced to pursue it. Best of luck!