yesterday I had a practice mock interview from a fivver gigger (great coach by the way), and in her feedback afterward she seemed captivated by the garage band and spent some time talking about that.
I accidentally failed to mention that I played cello and violin growing up (so hard to remember facts about myself on the spot), so she accidentally had the impression that once the quarantine hit I got all my friends and I to learn instruments and start a band (this was true of only 2 of the 4 members and not me). I think it was this aspect that appealed to her.
I wonder if I should roll with that.
Technically it is true that I hadn’t played bass guitar before, but I did play electric cello in a pre-covid band so I wasn’t starting from nothing, instrument-wise and band-wise.
Also I forgot to mention the other pre-covid rock band, so that contributed to the accidental impression.
Are you at the level where you should submit a music supplement? Just wondering. Cello, violin, garage band. A supplement would include recording/video, music resume and letter(s) of recommendation related to music.
I understand you weren’t planning on it but…if your talent justifies it, think about it.
Colleges WANT musicians, artists and creative people. I think of it as the sprinkles on and admissions cupcake, but maybe it’s actually the frosting I really hope you at least write about your music and cover all of it. And include how you made music during COVID.
I’ve looked into that and the consensus is pretty clear: only submit if you are good (as in, great). The audio supplements are sent over to music faculty, or lacking that some other expert, for comment.
It will certainly appear in a supplementary essay or otherwise. I always make sure I say at least one time “I want to start a rock band on campus” to every AO I encounter.
Creative person is one big part of my brand for sure, the easiest part because its true and easy to back up.
I’m not sure about emphasizing music at musical colleges though, as many people here caution.
However, if the essay is good I gotta go with what I have.
One advisor states that you should always have your essay not repeat something else on the app, like a listed activity. While that might be ideal, I don’t know how many essay topics I have in me, so…
Your essay should state something about you that isn’t found in an app.
If you are, for example, president of your humane society, you can still write about the impact animals have on your life or what you’ve accomplished.
The listing is just a descriptor - here’s what i did and when. The essay itself isn’t a list but the emotional or impactful journey that you’ve had and how it’s shaped you, etc.
So your essay could be about an activity, it could be about “nothing” as we discussed yesterday if your self deprecation comes through, or could be about something totally random - like I mentioned the girl who got into Yale (but attended Auburn) wrote about how excited she gets when she orders Papa Johns and waiting for it to arrive. Or something none of us has any idea about - like me, it’s therapy for me to rake leaves in my yard. Others use a blower. I use a rake. I always think, if i was applying to college, I might write about that
thanks. the coach I’m tentatively listening to now literally meant don’t write about an activity on your activity list, in exactly the way I’m portraying it.
I’ll probably have to take that as an ideal and something to be reinterpreted to my context.
Kind of like, what is the fitness routine that gets the best results?
You can absolutely write about an activity that you list. In fact, I would suggest you do expand on an activity that is important to “who you are.”
Writing about music when applying to schools that have BM programs is fine. Admissions is separate from the music school.
However the legit consideration is whether the presence of a conservatory/BM program will be a plus or minus for you . Some of those schools will still offer opportunities and resources to non-music major/non BM students and some won’t. And that may not matter to you anyway.
Coming back to this post @Southoftheriver.
I think I didn’t notice the very specific detail the first time.
What a great template for how to orient oneself toward a college!
I’m having my first interview in 3 days and this helps me think of how much I need to dial down into detail.
I think that is great advice for an interview but not sure you need to address those things in an essay. Stick to writing about your garage band during COVID- that’s my take.
I really hope you at least write about your music and cover all of it. And include how you made music during COVID.