An East Coast college is rethinking the college admissions process by accepting video applications.
Goucher College, a small liberal arts college in Maryland, now accepts two-minute video applications that state why a student would be a great addition to the university.
Chris Munchel, director of undergraduate admissions, said he does not think Ball State is moving in the same direction.
“I do not see Ball State University moving towards a video application, especially as the decisive factor for an admissions decision, anytime in the near future,” Munchel said.
Munchel said the admissions department feels it is important to continue to evaluate factors like high school curriculum, GPA and SAT/ACT scores when determining whom to admit to the university.
According to Goucher’s official rubric for the video applications, reviewers are looking for thoughtfulness, structure and clarity from applicants' videos.
A Goucher video application costs the same as a traditional written application, which Goucher still accepts. However, the major difference lies in the accompanying materials that go alongside the applications.
For written applications, students must also submit a high school transcript, a recommendation letter from a teacher and a secondary report with a letter of recommendation from a college adviser. For video applications, students must also submit a brief written form, one graded writing assignment and one other outstanding assignment.
Kristen Pinheiro, senior director of communications at Goucher, said she does not fully know what to expect, but believes video applications are a good idea.
“Video applications will help some students best present themselves as to how they are going to be a good member of our community and a student who is engaged,” Pinheiro said.
In addition, Pinheiro said that video applications allow students to show their technological prowess.
“This is a medium that students are increasingly comfortable with. It’s something they understand, something that’s second nature to many of them ... It only makes sense to offer this as an alternative way to apply,” Pinheiro said.
Pinheiro said that the university expects 40 to 50 students to submit video applications this year.
Nevertheless, one Ball State student said he would have loved to have a video admissions process.
Kaler Nicholson, a freshman telecommunications major, said that a video application might have helped him get into the honors college. The written application, Nicholson said, did not give him a chance to show some of his best traits.
“With a video application, you get to see the strongest qualities of students,” Nicholson said.
Other Ball State students expressed their interest in the video application process.
“I think it’s a really neat idea,” said John Baney, a graduate student in the Center for Communication and Information Sciences. “If it was around when I was applying to colleges, I could have said some things that I couldn’t say in a written application.”
Other students were uncertain as to the added personal value of a video admission.
“I like the idea, but I think I look better on paper than on video,” said Connor O’Laughlin, a sophomore communications major.
Pinheiro said that she still expects most students to submit written applications in the coming years, but added that Goucher’s new method is a revolutionary step forward.
“I think it’s starting a really important conversation around the admissions process,” she said.
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