The Arts Supplement

Today I’m going to write about a bit of a niche-y subset, but its something that I happen to know a lot about.

Perhaps the most under-utilized part of an application is the arts supplement.
Underutilized because it’s hard to make, not advertised, and schools are unclear about what it’s used for.
Today I’m going to do a quick overview of what it is, what its used for, and then in my typical flair- give you some gut-wrenching advice about it.

What is an arts supplement?

Exactly what it sounds like. For those who are creative or performing art inclined, an arts supplement is a submission made to demonstrate high ability in an art. I have heard it used for:

1.     Drama 2. Fine Art 3. Dance 4. Music

For performing arts it is a 10-minute excerpt of the applicants finest performance work. It’s a tape of a scene from a play, not you standing and doing a monologue in your kitchen. It’s a dance from a competition or recital, not you in the studio.
For music you can send CDs or videos. Music is a bit more flexible about the venue in which you’re performing.

For creative art, it is a portfolio of slides of your work.

An arts supplement is different than an application or audition. If you’re applying to a fine arts, drama, or music program, then it is not a fine arts submission. If you’re applying as a bio major, but are a fantastic artist, then your submission would be a fine arts supplement.

Why would you submit one?

A fine arts supplement helps a school to get a concrete analysis of your creative ability. Arts are so subjective that they cannot know of your talent just from your list of activities, so this gives you a chance to demonstrate high skill level.

A good score on an arts supplement can be a strong tip factor in your favor on an application.

How are they scored?

While it does change a bit school-to-school, there is a general formula for how they are used.

You submit the supplement. The admissions office passes it off to the department at the school (EX: Sends a dance supplement to the dance department). They will then rate your ability on a scale (lets say 1-5), where the highest score indicates that you are as talented or more talented than the best students currently at the school.

So should you or shouldn’t you?

Here’s the part where I rip your hearts out.

I would highly recommend submitting a supplement if you are of very high talent in that area.

If you are average or below average? Don’t bother submitting, because it won’t help you.

A bad score won’t really hurt you (because an arts supplement is only really there to help you) unless you’re painfully untalented. But it’s a waste of time and money to make one of these if its not going to help

Be very honest about your ability.

For example, lets say you love to act, and you are in several plays every year.

But you never get any parts, so you don’t really have a lot to make a supplement with.
You think you’re a good actor, but not a great one.

It might not be to your benefit to make an arts supplement.

Ask your teachers/directors/conductors if they think it could be a tip factor for you.

One last thing,

Make sure that the school accepts arts supplements, and see what they say about them. Some schools, for example, don’t have dance departments so they can’t really evaluate a dance supplement. They’ll probably have that information on their website. If they don’t, email the department heads and the admissions and ask what the protocol is.

Also, YouTube some arts supplements to get an idea of what they’re looking for.