Should I include an Arts Supplement?

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>Hey, everyone. I'm using my dad's account, but:</p>

<p>Would attaching an arts supplement help my application? I'm not planning to study art (thinking of majoring in bio, minor in psych, actually), but I think it would give a better idea of my level of talent and the nature of some of my extracurriculars. And of course I would continue to be involved while in college.
Otherwise, I've got strong stats and decent extracurriculars. I'm just wondering if an arts supplement would make me stand out more or add anything to my app. </p>

<p>Here are a couple of links:</p>

<p><a href="http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs49/f/2009/216/f/0/Savior_by_Katayoku_No_Tenshi.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs49/f/2009/216/f/0/Savior_by_Katayoku_No_Tenshi.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/134/f/4/Buried_in_the_Leaves_by_macheriexx.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/134/f/4/Buried_in_the_Leaves_by_macheriexx.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/068/0/8/The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray_by_Katayoku_No_Tenshi.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/068/0/8/The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray_by_Katayoku_No_Tenshi.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs49/f/2009/217/1/0/Darkness_by_Katayoku_No_Tenshi.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs49/f/2009/217/1/0/Darkness_by_Katayoku_No_Tenshi.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>(old) <a href="http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs39/f/2008/357/7/7/Valkyrie_by_Katayoku_No_Tenshi.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs39/f/2008/357/7/7/Valkyrie_by_Katayoku_No_Tenshi.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>And some sketches:</p>

<p><a href="http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/111/b/3/Sanity_doodles_4_21_2010_by_Katayoku_No_Tenshi.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/111/b/3/Sanity_doodles_4_21_2010_by_Katayoku_No_Tenshi.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/206/5/1/Neurodump_by_macheriexx.jpg%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/206/5/1/Neurodump_by_macheriexx.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>Hey!
So, I can give you two sides of the topic:

  1. You have no harm in submitting them. Some of your pieces, such as the piece with the red background and the pointing man, are very good. (The style is quite nice.) If the Stanford Art Dept. doesn’t like it, then they won’t count it. (It’ll be overlooked, so it won’t hurt your chances.)
  2. Some of your pieces don’t look quite finished. I do understand the style of manga, since I myself read it, but I’m not sure whether Stanford will allow your sketches to be considered as fine art. If you were to finish them, polish them, and then send it, I would think that it would be in your favour. In addition, you need about 10-12 pieces in your portfolio to be sent. These pieces should be representative of your very best work, and if you don’t have that many, then you might reconsider.
  3. I am not sure whether you are applying EA, or RD. The deadline might factor in whether or not you submit this. (The EA deadline is October 15, and the RD is December 1; Correct me if I am wrong.) If you still have time, you should work on not only your art, but you should make sure your other stuff is in order. (SAT, GPA, Recs, etc.)
  4. The Arts supplement requires a recommendation from an art teacher. Do you take art? If you do, what does your teacher have to say about your art? If you do not, has anyone, such as your parents, looked at your art? I highly suggest showing these pictures to various unbiased people to get their opinion. After all, you are submitting this to an unbiased committee. </p>

<p>If that answered your questions, I am glad, and if it didn’t, please ask away. I will attempt to answer them. :)</p>

3

<p>Can I ask which schools do you have in mind?</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Supplements of low quality (not saying that yours is by any means!) may hurt you.</p>

4

<p>Useful links, not necessarily on art supplements (but rather on music supplements), but these should give you a good idea the level of talent needed to impress the art departments of the top colleges in the country.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/738525-how-strong-music-ec.html?highlight=music[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/738525-how-strong-music-ec.html?highlight=music&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/830660-yale-arts-supplement.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/830660-yale-arts-supplement.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Policies on art supplements vary from school to school. When I asked an admission officer at Yale whether I should submit an art supplement (I draw a little bit on my own for fun, and like you, I never intented to major in art or anything) and was told to only submit a supplement if I am at the level where I have national or international awards. On the other hand, admission officer at another university told me that they welcome supplements of any quality, even if you only did it as a hobby.</p>

5

<p>Your art is seriously great. In my opinion you should send some. I liked #s 1, 2, 4, and 5 the most.</p>

6

<p>@iwanttobesaruman:</p>

<p>Thanks for the response! :'D</p>

<p>I’m self-taught, so most of my pieces are just sketches and doodles, yes. I’m taking AP Art next year (if I can transfer from Special Studies), so hopefully I can build up my portfolio and get a recommendation. If not, I guess I could always polish up some unfinished pieces in time for EA. </p>

<p>But do you think it would be possible to send in a few samples without the full arts supplement?
One of my EC’s is using my art to make classic lit more appealing to teens. The third link down was for Oscar Wilde’s ‘A Picture of Dorian Gray’. </p>

<p>Again, thanks for taking the time to help me out.</p>

7

<p>Calico:</p>

<p>Thanks, I’ll take a look at each school’s specific policies. If Commonapp can’t send art supplements individually (as I’ve heard?) then I can just use whatever supplement the school supplies.</p>

<p>I’m considering applying to Stanford (EA), Pomona, Berkeley, Cornell, Oberlin, Macalaster, St. Louis, etc. to give an idea of the general caliber.
My academics are strong enough that I’m not relying on art for a fighting chance, but I still want to portray myself as having a bit of depth/talent outside of academics.</p>

<p>For reference, some stats (since there’s no point in being vague about it):</p>

<p>Academics:</p>

<p>Attending Troy High, ----, CA. Class of 2011.
(About Troy High:
“21st Century National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence/California Distinguished High School
New American High School National Showcase Site
28th Best High School in America, Newsweek (May 2008) </p>

<h1>1 AP Computer Science Program in the World, AP Report to the Nation (2005 - 2008)” (from school website)</h1>

<p>School API: 925
GPA: 4.71 weighted, 3.71 unweighted
Senior year: 8 advanced classes
SAT Reasoning: 2350 (750 Math)
SAT II: Physics(800), Literature(790), Chemistry(790), Math II(780), Molec Bio(780), US History(780)
AP: (7) total with all of scores of 5 (European Hist, Computer Sci, Biology, Physics, US Hist, Eng Language and Composition, Calculus BC)
IB: Comp Sci HL (6), Physics SL (5), Bio SL (6)
PSAT: 238/240</p>

<p>---- College (summer 2009) :
Took “Basic Drawing” to fulfill arts requirement, grade: A
Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (summer 2006, 2007):
Took classes “Philosophy of Mind” and “Ethics”
---- Chinese School (1999-2008):
Weekend class in Chinese language and culture. </p>

<p>Notes: Junior Year: Doubled on sciences, AP Bio and AP Physics</p>

<p>Awards/Honors:</p>

<p>Troy Top 100 (both Sophomore and Junior years.)
Troy High honors the top 33 students (out of about 660) in each class except freshman, each year. National Merit Scholarship Finalist (Junior)
Selected based on high PSAT score. (238/240)
Principal’s Honor Roll (9, 10, 11)
GPA over 4.00 </p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>---- Library Anime Club – Founder and President. (June 2009 – present)
Social and cultural group for ---- teens, collaborates with other library teen clubs. Membership around 20, has secured manga donations from various sources (~100 volumes + $4000 total)
Literature Gallery Project – Creator/Organizer/Contributor (February 2010 – present)
Using (on my part) art to make classic literature more appealing to a teen audience. On display in the Brea Library teen section, and I’m getting club members involved.
St. Jude Medical Center – Volunteer (December 2009 – present)
Working in 2Main, rehabilitation unit. Assist nurses and aids, and answer patient calls.
Cal State ---- Kinesiology – Research Intern (150 hrs June- July 2010) with paper expected.
Help conduct an experiment on error amplification in motor learning. Database research for a paper on self-regulated learning.
Troy High School Clubs
VP of Anime Club (2007-present)
Secretary of TIS (Art Club) (2008-present)
Philosophy Club (2009-present)</p>

<p>Lol, there’s probably no point in censoring; I’m not hard to find based on context…</p>

8

<p>After seeing that… don’t bother sending the art supplement haha. It will just be extra work for you probably. Your stats and everything are great and the art won’t do much (i’m saying this in a good way if you get what I mean)</p>

9

<p>They’re really nice! I say, submit them! No harm can be done.</p>

10

<p>I would probably recommend that you do not submit an arts supplement. Idk… maybe you should? Trust your own judgment.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>[Arts</a> Supplement : Stanford University](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/application/freshman/arts.html]Arts”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/application/freshman/arts.html)</p>

11

<p>Thanks for your feedback, everyone!</p>

<p>Since art’s all over my EC’s, I probably don’t have to rub it in anyone’s face to get my point across. :')</p>