<p>I've been involved in photography since the beginning of 10th grade, with three hours of class per week and independent work in addition to that (including a juried exhibition of student photographers from all over the DC area). It's one of my main EC's, but I don't want to be an art major. Should I still send a portfolio? I've asked a few people about this, but received wildly different responses:</p>
<p>(1) If you're not going to major in art, why bother? Adcoms have enough paperwork to deal with as it is; don't make their lives harder for no apparent reason.</p>
<p>(2) If you're good enough, a portfolio can only help. Besides, it'll help them see you as an individual and not just another faceless set of stats.</p>
<p>So, which is it?</p>
<p>Send it in only if it's very good, and include only a small selection of your work. </p>
<p>Don't worry about dumping extra "work" on admissions staff. Would you leave the "extracurricular activities" section of the application blank in order to save them time? Reviewing applications is their job, and sending in a complete application (that includes examples of your work) gives them the materials they need to do their job properly. Visual art can be reviewed much more quickly than written work. If you're really concerned about the admission staff's well-being, remember that looking at interesting pictures might be a nice break from reading applications.</p>
<p>various schools have different policies. Princeton encourages supplements and even provides a separate form for it. In the case of NYU, they request that artistic supplements not be sent if you're not pursuing a future in that department because the admissions committee would have no basis to judge the art.</p>
<p>If you aren't planning to major in photography but are planning to take photography elective classes or take photographs for the school newspaper you should send some samples. According to everything I've heard on CollegeConfidential, colleges are interested in what you'll give to the school. If you plan to use your talent at the school in some shape or form (does not mean majoring!) they will be :) .</p>