Music Composition Supplement for Non-Conservatory BA Programs (Stanford, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, USC, etc.)

College Majors Music Majors
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Looking for advice from parents/students who have gone through the music composition supplement process at highly selective universities (Stanford, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, USC, etc.) where the student is applying to the college (BA) rather than a conservatory/BM program.

The student is a serious pre-professional composer with multiple commissioned works, performances by professional musicians, international awards, and advanced composition study.

A few questions:

  • For composition supplements, how much do colleges care about live recordings versus MIDI/mockup recordings? Some schools seem to accept both, but it’s unclear whether one is viewed more favorably.

  • When selecting portfolio pieces, is it better to show range and versatility or simply submit the strongest works regardless of instrumentation?

  • Some schools are straight up asking for a music recommendation letter and a music résumé, while others, like Harvard, don’t say anything specific. So, should it be submitted or not?

  • Any school-specific advice for Stanford, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, or USC?

  • For those whose students submitted composition supplements to these schools, what do you wish you had known before applying?

Would especially love to hear from families of composers.

Thank you!

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@compmom

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My son is a serious hobbyist in modern music composition. He composed and submitted a music composition (both the midi mock-up and the traditional score with all parts written out). His school wind ensemble performed the piece at his last concert senior year.

He is not a music major or minor, but was a member of both the wind symphony and jazz ensemble (he has since dropped jazz ensemble) and was all-state in both wind ensemble and jazz band in high school (different instruments, for what it’s worth).

I think this activity really helped him get into Stanford and numerous other top academic schools.

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Also, his music teacher at school wrote him a very personal recommendation. His music teacher really respected my son’s music abilities and commitment to the program.

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The “portfolio” for a supplement can include one piece cued for the best 3 minutes, in our experience. For top BA programs, also from our experience, the resume and music references were key. We are not even sure music faculty listened! (Yale has a SOM so is a bit different.) I am sending you a PM (top right, green oval with envelope)/

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