Hey! Thank you for bringing that up. I didn’t know that you could submit a supplement with a recording. But isn’t that intended for people majoring in their instrument? If not, I will do so gladly and I have some great music teachers of 10+ years that would give great LORs.
And what intersection of music and CS are you talking about?
You don’t have to plan a major in music or even plan on doing EC music to submit a supplement that can be helpful.
And, well there is actually a grad degree in computer music at some schools and most music programs have some music technology courses.
Lots of students have ECs that are not their college majors. Music is one example. Sports or athletic ECs is another.
Don’t obsess over prestige. It’s not healthy. Years back, my wife graduated valedictorian from high school and she got into Yale. She was severely anorexic and weighed 65 lbs when she gave her speech. These schools have become so hyper-competitive that getting in has become unreasonably inhuman. These are NOT schools you want to be obsessed about getting into.
Being a programmer myself, prestige is not a requirement. CS is ridiculously employable. You can graduate from a strong accredited university, and land a job quite easily.
Find put if the school accepts such supplements. If they do, absolutely send one.
Some colleges do not look at these sorts of supplemental materials, so find out first if your college(s) does.
In case it’s helpful, UIUC has a CS+Music major (not a double major). Not a T10/T20 school, but a top CS program.
I haven’t read the entire thread so am not sure if this fits your preferences for size, location, etc., but GTech is obviously a top for CS and has a music technology degree that may be of interest.
I haven’t read the whole thread either so you may have mentioned it upthread. Why are you pursuing a CS degree and what’s your goal with a CS degree? If your goal is to pursue a career in one of the more “traditional” fields in CS, CS+X may not be what you need. CS+X is generally about the application of CS in some other field X. Is that what you want to do? It could be considered a CS lite if your goal is to pursue a career in a more “traditional” CS field.
To your original question, ECs in CS would show interest and passion for CS to the colleges, but you can demonstrate your interest in other ways. Colleges understand applicants have other interests and/or commitments. They want to know, most of all, how and why you spend your spare time and what you’ve accomplished. ECs in unrelated areas are perfectly fine.
I agree with @INJParent and want to clarify that my comment about the intersection of CS and Music was not intended to encourage a major of CS plus music. I think following the traditional CS curriculum is a fine idea. You can take an elective in computer music.
If computer music really inspires you, you can certainly go on to grad work in that field but I think a more usual approach would be to do CS as a major and do extracurricular lessons and performance. Then go on to a career in CS, with or without continued performance as an amateur.
You can always consider a double degree. A double major would often be burdensome.
Again, your music accomplishments show good work ethic, discipline, commitment, ability to work with others etc. etc. regardless of your major. You can add something related to CS but if you can’t, don’t worry too much.
@tyhumper1 is right: some schools don’t accept supplements (UC’s).
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