I want to get input from people, either admissions officers or parents/students who’ve been through the admissions process, on whether I should submit an art supplement with my Common App to Stanford EA.
I’ve always had a passion for the visual arts, and I do photography, graphic design and digital art when I’m not doing schoolwork or my other extracurriculars. I haven’t won any awards (in high school) for my art, though I’ve gotten many complements (my art teacher said my work looks professional). My applicant profile is otherwise mostly focused on my strength in the humanities (esp. History and English), but I don’t think it’d be complete without discussing my art.
Should I submit an arts portfolio to show this other side to me? Or would it weaken my application by tacking on another area of consideration that could count against me?
As long as Stanford has no problem accepting supplements, you should submit it. Be aware that some colleges utilize an additional fee paying service for arts supplements. You also want to check that they don’t require any art supplement to be juried work only. Before you submit, do get an outside opinion on the quality of your work, becasue if it isn’t actually that good, yes, it could weaken your app.
–Research to see if Stanford or any other schools you apply to accept art supplements and, if so, what form the supplement needs to be submitted in.
–My understanding is that any art supplement should be of an exceptionally high quality for it to be worth submitting. Agree with @Lindagaf that you should get independent outside assessment of your work.
–If you don’t submit an art supplement you can discuss your art elsewhere in your application (ex. in an essay, if you are involved in art related activities, if you do win any awards in time to include on the application etc.)