The Trend: Gen Z is the influencer generation. These students are typically as comfortable expressing themselves in front of a camera as they are interacting in person. Enter the video introduction as an optional supplement to the undergraduate admissions application. These short videos let students present themselves in their own words and share information not included in written application materials.
Exhibit A: Brown University was an early adopter, adding a video introduction component to its undergraduate admissions application in 2018. Each video is 90 seconds max and can cover anything an applicant wants to share with the admissions team. Production quality is not assessed. “This isn’t the Oscars,” quips Logan Powell, associate provost for enrollment and dean of admission.
The Pros: “We find that a video introduction is nearly universally helpful in giving us one more snapshot into the picture of who a student is,” Powell explains. Videos are a way to better understand what students are curious about, what drives them or brings them joy. For example, one applicant showcased a collection of books he keeps in his car trunk to read when he’s traveling, while another talked about her rural hometown with little light pollution and how the brilliant night sky inspired her dreams of studying astrophysics at Brown. These are insights about applicants that wouldn’t have come through in SAT scores or transcripts.
The Cons: Admissions officers have to be savvy enough to manage the tech involved. In Brown’s case, students upload video introductions directly to the school’s application portal or use third-party platforms Glimpse or InitialView. “We really grappled with whether we should offer prompts,” Powell admits. In the end, they chose to share suggestions for inspiration but leave the introduction format and topic up to the students. Powell says that occasionally students also upload their videos to YouTube along with an admissions decision. Seeing a successful video application could sway how future applicants present themselves.
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Reality Check: The feedback Brown has received is that students like the video application’s casual format and that the video can be shot anywhere on their own time. Because Brown’s applicant pool has grown so big since 2018, admissions opted to sunset alumni interviews in 2022.
The Upshot: The majority of early decision applicants and “a healthy percentage” of regular applicants elect to upload a video introduction. “The introductions are nearly universally helpful, interesting, riveting, productive or funny,” Powell says. “They are just a great platform for us to learn more about students.”
Danna Lorch is a Boston-based higher education writer and strategist.
