<p>I never took an art class in high school, but I have played the piano for about 3 years now. I am not that amazing to be honest. I can play pieces slightly above the level of Fur Elise. Would you recommend that I submit a few pieces to show my musical side or leave it off completely?</p>
<p>I would send one if I were you, I don’t think it would hurt. It would only be bad if you really sucked.</p>
<p>^^ Absolutely NOT TRUE!</p>
<p>When you submit something extra with your application – be it an art portfolio, music supplement, research project or computer science project – whatever you submit is going to be compared to all other students who have submitted similar material. Consequently, your portfolio, supplement or website needs to be of the highest caliber, otherwise your work will be overshadowed by superior presentations. If you do not have such examples to submit, it might just be better for you to write about your passion for a subject and to NOT submit anything extra.</p>
<p>Yale as some great advice about submitting extra materials on their website that would pertain to Harvard, as well: [Supplementary</a> Materials for Transfers | Yale College Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.yale.edu/supplementary-materials-for-transfers]Supplementary”>http://admissions.yale.edu/supplementary-materials-for-transfers)</p>
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<p>Yale says it won’t “help” your application not that it would hurt it.</p>
<p>I don’t see any reason why he/she wouldn’t send one.</p>
<p>@Anna: Think of the extreme example. Yo-Yo Ma applied to Harvard as a non-music major and submitted a music supplement. That is the level of talent that applies to Harvard. Unless your supplement is of the highest caliber, it can sink an application.</p>
<p>Please also see: <a href=“https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-process/application-requirements/supplemental-application-materials[/url]”>https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-process/application-requirements/supplemental-application-materials</a></p>
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<p>I strongly agree with gibby…as this question has been asked several times on S, H, Y forums…as these schools are pretty DIRECT in what they want to see in the extraordinary level for arts supplements…let me direct you to a recent discussion on S forum…</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stanford-university/1539485-should-i-send-arts-supplement.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stanford-university/1539485-should-i-send-arts-supplement.html</a></p>
<p>…please think very carefully before you submit (strong warning)…</p>
<p>I have a slight disagreement with gibby about this topic which appears just about every year. The difference is that I don’t believe that you have to be a Yo-Yo Ma to submit a music or other art-type supplement, but I think the best measure is if you could be seriously considered for a music conservatory or art institute. There also should be some metric to measure your ability. I don’t believe that you must have won a national competition, but you need something more that just state orchestra, etc. Attendance at an audition-based program might work.</p>
<p>Dude, I played Fur Elise when I was 6. There are a lot of people better than me. Unless your playing at least grade 8 pieces with no technical errors and a high degree of musicality don’t think about it. People submitting music supplements to Harvard easily have over a decade of experience playing it.</p>
<p>Let me preface and then give my explanation: IF YOU ARE SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE LEVEL OF FUR ELISE, DO NOT SUBMIT AN ARTS SUPPLEMENT!!!</p>
<p>When Harvard asks for an arts supplement, they are looking for literally conservatory-level applicants. They want to see that you’re so good at an artistic talent that you could pursue it as a successful career. If you talk about playing the piano in your application, they’ll trust you. It’s not necessary to prove it with a mediocre tape. </p>
<p>I’ve been playing the violin since I was 6 (currently doing Beethoven Violin Concerto, Bartok Romanian Dances, and tons of solo Bach), and I’ve been composing since I was 8. I recorded the g minor sonata (<a href=“Isaac Stern - Bach Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001 Fugue - YouTube”>Isaac Stern - Bach Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001 Fugue - YouTube, 3 part fugue for solo violin), and ultimately decided not to submit it because it wasn’t at a pre-conservatory level.</p>
<p>I did however submit a composition supplement. I have a few awards under my belt, including 2nd place in a national competition, and have a pretty solid portfolio under my belt. I mainly submitted it because composers aren’t very common so it is a differentiating factor.</p>
<p>A kid from my school who was admitted last year submitted a supplement for piano - he had one many national piano competitions and performed for Condoleezza Rice. Another kid that I know from a different school who was admitted two years ago submitted a violin supplement; he went to Juilliard pre-college, studied with Itzhak Perlman, and won international competitions (I showed him my violin supplement, and he advised that I not submit it).</p>
<p>That being said, don’t submit an arts supplement to show that you are a diverse applicant; submit an arts supplement to show that you are one of the best youth musicians on your instrument out there. Sorry for the bluntness, but this has been the truth in my experience.</p>
<p>Does this also apply to writing supplements(books, short stories etc.)? If yes, would it then, if submitting a not-so-revolutionary piece of writing seen from HYPS perspective, be better to merely mention its title in the application and that it has been published and received positive reviews by national/intl press?</p>
<p>@pipercub I’m not really sure how they review creative writing supplements, so don’t take my word on this. However, if you’re writing something that has received positive reviews from international press, it’s probably highly exceptional and you should definitely submit it.</p>
<p>Bottom line about supplements in any area - they should show an extraordinarily high caliber talent in a given artistic area. They don’t have to be revolutionary, but they have to be pretty damn great. “Good” isn’t enough.</p>