My daughter is applying to a Top 20 school ED and several additional schools EA later this week. She has everything ready to go EXCEPT a good audio file of her singing. She is not applying to any school’s music program, but singing is a talent she has developed over the past decade and her Glee Club teacher thought should she submit something.
This week will already be hectic as my daughter is putting the finishing touches on her supplements, checking in with her guidance counselor, studying for midterms etc. The best time to tape her singing several solos with piano accompaniment will likely be sometime next week, after the deadline. If we do that, should we attempt to send her audio file AFTER the ED/EA application date? Will “Sliderule” still be available to applicants? Will this just make her look like someone who can’t adhere to deadlines?
Alternatively, should we just save the audio file for the RD schools and any school that defers her?
This is my first post on this site. I have found it very helpful to read so far!
If the answer isn’t clear from the website I’d have her contact her ED/EA schools and ask if it will be accepted and in what form it should be sent.
My general feeling is that an arts supplement needs to be of an extremely high quality for it to be helpful to an application. Be sure to have the Glee Club teacher review anything she is considering submitting.
I would ask the admissions offices. But meeting the deadline does seem important. Can she record with her phone, without accompaniment?
Has she done any singing outside of school? Often a music supplement includes a recording, plus a music resume and letters of recommendation from a teacher and/or director. So the recording isn’t the only way to show talent.
So another approach, for now, might be to submit the other aspects of a music supplement, meaning a letter from the glee club teacher describing her talent and work ethic etc. And a music resume if the rest of the application doesn’t fully describe or properly highlight her singing experience.
Does her application already have info that would be on a resume? If her experience is Glee Club and that is listed, fine, but if there are awards or other singing experiences that are not listed or highlighted, she could write about them in the supplementary essay in the common app, the one that asks if there is anything else the college needs to know about you (I forget the wording!).
And she could add a letter of recommendation from the teacher who could describe her talent, work ethic etc.
As for the recording, can she sing something a capella and use her phone to record?
To sum up: for these early applications I personally would prioritize making the deadline and do whatever elements of a music supplement that are possible. If the general application supplies all the info already, then add a letter from the glee club teacher and possibly write about singing in the supplementary essay.
A recording might be nice but is icing on the cake and not absolutely crucial, and could go to RD schools if talent warrants it.
I agree that meeting the deadlines is the key. If your D isn’t planning to be a music major, don’t stress about the arts supplement. If she’s deferred to RD, then send it with first semester grades.
Also agree with compmom that the arts supplement needs to be conservatory level to even consider sending.
Thanks all. D has been taking voice lessons for 8-10 years and also sings within one of the advanced singing groups at her high school. Both of those are on the application, but they aren’t emphasized in her ED app because she wanted to emphasize other ECs in which she has excelled. She has a lovely, lovely voice - one that has strengthened over the years and which will probably net her a solo this year at her high school’s XMas concert (if so, we’ll get a tape). She would love to continue singing in college (glee club or a capella groups) but she does not imagine herself studying music theory or seeking a BFA. The only reason I even thought about the arts supplement is that the Glee Club teacher mentioned to us during parent-teacher night how great D is doing this year, etc etc.
Given the stress she is under this week (tests, plus finishing and filing the common app), my preference is to have her skip the supplement for the early round and then spend some time making a recording for the RD round (plus an additional letter of rec).
Also check what the schools say about such materials. Some welcome anything of interest about the applicant, others expressly say not to add such supplements unless they are related to the major /required as part of the application.
My daughter did not submit an arts supplement because she was afraid she couldn’t prepare one of high enough quality in time for the deadline. But when she got to campus and auditioned for the music department (for a choral group and to be placed in piano lessons), one of the profs asked her why she hadn’t done one. So I would err on the submitting an arts supplement in time for the deadline if this is at all possible. This could help your daughter get in to a school where she might be on the edge, and could help secure her a place with a good faculty mentor once she arrives.
My instrumental musician daughter never sent an arts supplement to any of her schools…and she was top instrumentalist on her instrument in this state. She did make contact with the orchestra director, head of the music department, and instructor on her instrument everywhere she applied. She inquired about opportunities for students who were not music majors. Most were very happy to answer her questions…and the ones that weren’t were dropped from her application list.
Like your daughter, mine had been studying her instrument for 10 years before HS graduation…and absolutely wanted to continue playing in a college orchestra. She had to carefully look at schools because some really didn’t have this for non-majors.
Anyway…she was actually able to take a lesson with the private teachers at the places where she applied (all four of them), and meet the folks when we visited the schools. She auditioned for and was seated in the orchestra first chair for all four years she was in college, and continues private music study as well.
All this without an arts supplement of any kind.
I would have your daughter reach out to the music folks at the colleges.
I will add…vocalists have off campus opportunities as well. We know more than several college students who sang in some amazing church choirs while in college.
An arts/music supplement is useful regardless of major. Colleges are interested in ways in which you can contribute on campus.
Perhaps the music teacher could write a letter for the early applications (she might have to ask the colleges the best way to submit this or even if it is useful).
If the application already shows her years of study and the singing she does at school, the resume is not needed and the recording can wait …considering the stress at this time.