Goucher accepts videos in lieu of transcripts and test scores. Really?
I’ve blogged the past few years how thoughtful, well-made videos can help college applicants, and that many colleges accept video as supplemental materials.
PBS News Hour reports that Goucher College now solicits videos as a primary means of assessing a student’s worthiness for attending their elite school. They even accept video in lieu of transcripts and test scores. No more personal essay needed. No more struggling over developing a compelling and coherent thesis that reveals a student’s passion and uniqueness in a neat five-paragraph structure. No more carefully crafting essay language. Forget all that pesky editing and rewriting.
Goucher says, “A two-minute video levels the playing field. It’s something that most 18-year-olds really do understand. They have seen lots of them. They have made some, and everybody has a phone.”
It’s incredibly easy to make a video. Anyone can do it. Witness the unending stream of videos uploaded to Facebook and YouTube every day. Just point your cell phone, start recording, talk… perform, then upload. Done. Right?
Goucher’s President adds, “You can use the phone to make a video of yourself, and there’s a kind of authenticity. Remember that I can’t tell that you actually wrote your essay. There are plenty of tutors and teachers. And if you’re sending the same essay to dozens or even hundreds of colleges, you have probably worked on it through dozens of iterations with other people.”
But how to make an “authentic” video that serves you well? Shouldn’t a video that helps determine which college a student goes to require the same careful thought, creativity and craft of a written essay?
As a parent, how do you feel about the possibility of a student’s unmediated selfie self-sabotaging his or her college dreams?
After three decades making award-winning documentaries for PBS, CBS News Productions, History Channel, Animal Planet, the Met Opera Orchestra, the FDNY and multiple corporations and non-profits, I can help students tell their own authentic story in an effective and engaging manner. In addition to creating college application videos, we also consult, offering the following services:
- Vet the concept
- Pose questions to elicit insightful answers onscreen
- Help create an optimal structure
- Counsel on production techniques
- Suggest trims and edits
- Advise on video formatting for posting online
To discuss the Family Tribute Film’s process and rates, contact:
Randi Cohen, Head of New Development, at (917) 767-6260
Richard Kaplan, Founder, at (917) 447-1285; RichardBKaplan@verizon.net
And watch examples of our work. http://www.familytributefilm.net/what
To watch the PBS News Hour story: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/can-cell-phone-video-get-kid-college/