<p>I am thinking of applying to Bowdoin as a reach.</p>
<p>I have had some pretty cool achievements in theater / speech (speech is mostly acting).</p>
<p>I think that if I applied to Bowdoin, I'd probably include the arts supplement.</p>
<p>But... if I sent them a clip of my acting --- and they didn't think I was all that good, then would it HURT my chances at all?</p>
<p>Like, if they thought that my application was good, but my arts supplement was absolutely horrendous, then would I be hurting my own chances?</p>
<p>How does the admission process work? Would they look at my admission and my arts supplement separately?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>To my knowledge, the arts supplement won't hurt your application. If your application is solid academically with great EC's and that sort of thing, an unimpressive arts supplement will not be a negative factor.</p>
<p>I talked to a few schools about sending an art portfolio in, and what I've found usually happens is that when you send the supplement to the admissions office, your supplment gets sent to a department of the school (say, the art department or the drama department) and, if it's impressive, that department can then recommend you to the admissions office. If it's not very good, it won't be something that helps you with admissions, but it won't affect you negatively.</p>
<p>I personally think it's a good idea to send in the supplement if you've devoted a good deal of time to an activity -- it shows your dedication and, if it's good, it can help you with admissions.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>oh wow, i didn't even see this thread before.</p>
<p>yeah, katec has it correct. i'm not too sure about bowdoin, even though i talked to their admissions director at a swarthmore info thing, but from my knowledge, columbia, brown, williams, and swarthmore all say the same thing: they briefly look at whatever supplement you send in, and then it gets sent to the respective department. they assign it a number between 1-5. fives are hard to come by (i'm guessing similar to a 5 in ap art studio?), but if your artwork is assigned a 5 the art department will notify the adcoms and if your scores/grades/transcripts are on par, then you're gold. the adcoms say (in general) they know very little about art and sometimes a 3 is very impressive. however, a 1 or a 2 will not hurt you since the art department will just refrain from making a recommendation and your supplement is just put on the side.</p>
<p>even though a lot of schools (brown, i know) SAY not to send in a supplement unless you have an "unusual, extraordinary talent", i wouldn't worry about it too much. they just don't want everyone to send in extra recommendations from the governor and whatnot, and artwork should not hurt you. if you want, send me a pm and i'll take a look at your stuff. i'm far from an expert, but if you want a second opinion i'd love to look at it. </p>
<p>hope that helped!</p>