5 Steps to Write an Arts Supplement for College Applications

Applying to college is a monumental task. With so much material to submit, you might have questions about the optional arts supplement. Let’s examine the reasons that it could be a good idea for you, what steps are involved, and what you have to gain by getting it right.

My name is Phil Rashkin, and my music students have been accepted into Harvard, Brown, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, and Yale Universities. This document will guide you through the steps to create an outstanding arts supplement.

What materials do I need to submit?

First, take note that the arts supplement has several names. An arts supplement, arts portfolio, or creative portfolio are different names for the same item.

The supplement typically consists of three pieces of information. They are:

1. Art Submissions

2. Artist Résumé

3. Letter of Recommendation

Let’s begin by deciding if an arts supplement is right for you.

Step 1. Decide if you should submit an arts supplement

It is helpful to understand the purpose of an arts supplement. 

With so many applicants, an optional arts supplement gives a chance to differentiate yourself and show your individuality. Regardless of what your college major might be, showing achievement in the arts demonstrates determination, dedication, and self-directed qualities that colleges value. And if you really are excellent at your artistic discipline, you can skyrocket your overall application.

Let’s look at how the arts supplement is graded. This document is submitted separately from your main application, and it is graded separately. While your main application goes through its own scoring process, the arts supplement is sent directly to the arts faculty at the college. Since each arts discipline requires specific knowledge to understand the quality of the submission, colleges use the expertise of their arts faculty to determine a score for the supplement. The score is then factored into the overall application score.

This asks the question: Should I submit an arts supplement?

Your answer will depend on how seriously you have studied your artistic discipline, and how competitive you are in the field. It can be hard to judge yourself without outside knowledge, so ask yourself some questions:

1. Am I one of the top students at my school in this discipline?

2. Have I participated in events or programs outside of my school in this discipline?

3. Do I have a one-on-one teacher or mentor who can give me honest feedback?

While receiving a low score on the arts supplement will not produce a significant detriment to your overall application, it is important to ask yourself if it’s worth the time to submit this document. It takes hours to put together a polished arts supplement. Step back and decide if your time would be better spent on the main portion of your application.

If you find it worth your time, the next step is to take a look at the guidelines of the universities.

Step 2. Research the Universities

Each university is its own entity, and each has its own rules and guidelines. Some colleges accept disciplines that others do not. Certain colleges do not even accept an arts portfolio. This is often because they have separate schools for the arts and/or allow for a dual degree program.

You can search “arts supplement (name of college)” to find the details for each school.

Let’s look at some examples. If you view Princeton’s Art Supplement guidelines, you’ll notice that they accept submissions for architecture, creative writing, dance, music, music theater, theater or visual arts. Keep in mind that not all colleges accept all disciplines. For example, MIT does not accept creative writing as a discipline for their creative portfolio.

Each discipline has its own guidelines. Architecture for Princeton requires 3-10 visual work samples, while dance requires a digital video of one or more solo performances of contrasting styles. Princeton’s piano guidelines are extremely specific, with the faculty preferring works from the 48 preludes and fugues of J.S. Bach, the first movement of a sonata by Mozart, Beethoven or Haydn, and any 19th- or 20th-century solo work, not including concerti. That’s quite a lot of detail!

By doing this research early, you can find overlapping requirements and build your portfolio based on this information. Using the previous example, if I were applying as a pianist, I would use Princeton’s guidelines as my starting point for choosing repertoire. Since Brown University's music guidelines are open-ended, the specific materials for Princeton could be used to fulfill the requirements for both universities. MIT requires musicians to submit two recordings representing contrasting styles or periods, so Princeton’s materials work here as well.

This all being said, the most important thing is that your art submissions are of the highest quality. If you are a musician, I recommend submitting a highly polished performance in a real concert hall over a video that includes suggested repertoire but is filmed in a classroom.

You can extrapolate this information for whatever your discipline may be.

This takes us to the most important step, crafting the art.

Step 3. Art Submission

Once you know the requirements for the universities that you are applying to, it’s time to create the actual art submission. All things being equal, I recommend using recent materials since your art is most likely to have improved over time. However, feel free to use a polished video from the last few years. Don’t go too far in the past though – I would generally avoid video materials from when you were a child. 

Of course, there are always exceptions. If you have a video like Yo-Yo Ma’s childhood performance for the president, that would be a good addition! He attended Columbia, Juilliard, and Harvard! 

Take a moment to understand that the application process can be exhausting for both parties involved. When I was in high school and was submitting college applications, I didn’t understand the perspective of the adjudicators.

As an applicant, you spend a lot of time creating your submission. It’s natural to expect the adjudicator to provide the same amount of attention that you did. This is not the case.

Now that I have been an adjudicator for art applications, I have a better understanding of the grading process. Even with the best of intentions, the submissions blur together after viewing 100+ applications. 

The adjudicator is not going to find the hidden gems in your application. Your best art needs to be displayed in an obvious manner. Don’t make the adjudicator scroll through two decent submissions before they see a great one. If you are submitting a video from a live performance, don’t include 30 seconds of introductions or applause. In the Yo-Yo Ma example, I would cut out the talking at the beginning of the video so that the adjudicator doesn’t have to skip ahead to the music.

Judges move quickly and score quickly. First impressions matter. The presentation is important.

Step 4. Artist Résumé

Next is the artist résumé. I recommend a one or two page document. It should highlight your accomplishments, awards, and journey as an artist. 

One or two pages can both work well. Evaluate how much material you have available to determine the length of the résumé.

For a two page music résumé for a musician, I recommend that the first page includes your title information (name and instrument), education, ensemble/solo experience, and honors/awards.

The second page can include a list of the repertoire that you have performed. This could be mostly solo works if you play piano, or you could include orchestral works if you play an instrument like the oboe. Use your best judgment, and you can condense to one page if you see fit.

Each discipline is a little bit different, so extrapolate the information for yourself.

As a general rule, you’ll want to list highlights and provide context to explain the important details. While some things are obvious, especially since the arts faculty has knowledge of your discipline, don’t assume that they will know everything about your accomplishments or the programs that you have attended. Feel free to write a sentence about what your arts program is like, or explain the competitiveness to get into a certain program that you attended. Some things can speak for themselves, such as attending a program like the Juilliard Pre-College or another nationally recognized program, but as a general rule, add detail.

Step 5. Letter of Recommendation

This is the last piece of the arts supplement. You will need an art teacher to submit a letter of recommendation on your behalf.

Be sure to ask your teacher ahead of time. Two weeks before the deadline is the absolute minimum that I would consider saying yes to a student. It takes a lot of time to write a good recommendation, and you don’t want your teacher to be rushed. 6-8 weeks of prep time is much better and will produce a better result, especially since your teacher may have several letters to write on any given year.

Try to pick a teacher who has known you for a while, and who you think would write the letter with care. Not all artists are great writers, so give some thought regarding your choice.

Note that you’ll need to submit your teacher’s email address with your supplement. Your teacher will receive an email with a link to upload the document, and the recommendation is submitted directly to the college. You will not be able to view the recommendation letter.

Once you have chosen your teacher, and they have agreed to write a letter, I advise that you send them a document that details your work together. Teachers tend to work with a lot of students, and it is easy for your teacher to forget specific information.

I recommend sending an email to your teacher with your artist résumé, one or two pages of information about yourself, and a thank you. Include how long you have worked together and any accomplishments that they have witnessed or helped you achieve. This material will help your teacher have useful information to mention in their letter. Additionally, list the deadlines for each school and let your teacher know that this letter goes directly to the arts faculty at the college.

If you don’t receive an email from your teacher confirming submission a week before the deadline, feel free to send them an email to check in.

Conclusion

And with that, you have completed your arts portfolio! I wish you the best of luck with the rest of your application! Applying to colleges is a marathon, so keep putting one foot in front of the other. Before you know it, you will be able to relax and celebrate.

If you’d like one-on-one help with your portfolio, please feel free to fill out the form below. I will email you to set up a phone consultation.