"The ‘Reel’ Student: Web-Based Video Supplements Enhance the College Application"

Applying to College
1

<p>
[quote]
It has finally arrived. CollegeSupplement.com, a ground breaking, web-based tool designed exclusively to connect college applicants and admission professionals, is live. This site enables students to express their full potential and showcase their unique talents through an online video supplement. Using a webcam, digital camera or video equipment, all typically available at most high schools, students are able to film and upload three different videos, ranging from 45 seconds to three minutes in length. Each student then receives a personal passcode to include with their college application, giving the school access to their supplement. </p>

<p>CollegeSupplement.com uses a quick-see format, permitting admissions officers to easily view a student’s videos using the personal passcode. Through a secure, Web 2.0-rooted multimedia platform, admissions officers are able to literally see each applicant, hear their story, and gain a deeper insight into their personality and qualifications – all at the click of a button

[/quote]
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<p><a href="http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070619006067&newsLang=en%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070619006067&newsLang=en&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Hmm...I like the concept but I'm not sure if it'll actually be effective. The problem with a 45 second to 3 minute video is that it can easily be faked, unlike an interview where interaction actually occurs. Yes, it can be used to get an applicant's "true" personality across, but it could easily also be used to show a personality that is totally different and untrue. And if this manages to catch on (which I don't think it will), I'm afraid that "video counselors" are going to pop up and it's going to get all unpleasant and defeat the entire point :(</p>

2

<p>LOL: Another wolf company enters the market to prey on the nervous college applicant herd. Most adcoms are very sensitive to the extreme hard work that already is required to apply to theirs and a host of other schools. I don't see that THEY would encourage this -- it would only marginally assist them in decisionmaking and greatly add stress to kids who feel they need to out-gun the next Ivy-bound applicant. </p>

<p>I hope this idea dies on the vine.</p>

3

<p>Are you guys joking? </p>

<p>I didn't read the article, but it just sounds like college apps are stepping into the future. It sounds like an easier way to submit an application online and having hundreds of college admissions officers view your application online, like major job-search websites. And it doesn't have to be a replacement for interviews.</p>

4

<p>Didn't Elle Woods from Legally Blonde do this for her Harvard Law School application?</p>

5

<p>^OMG! I just thought of that!</p>

<p>I think this is just another company fishing for money. Maybe in a decade or so this will be viable, but not now.</p>

6

<p>lmao
imagine a real-life Elle
<em>sigh</em></p>

7

<p>Thanks for everyone's excellent feedback. Our site was designed primarily to do three things: 1) provide a free method for applicants to distinguish themselves in their own words; 2) eliminate the admissions officer's hassle of handling tapes & DVD's as sometimes get sent-in with applications; and 3) help guidance counselors get their students noticed. The wide use of the Common App, popularity of online video and expertise that you have handling multimedia means that technology is part of everything we do..... CollegeSupplement.com tries to combine all of that into a no-cost resource that helps applicants and admissions professionals. Our users determine what's best for our site, so please send through any/all feedback. Thanks, Steve Metzman, CollegeSupplement.com</p>

8

<p>Wow. /<em>lmao</em>/</p>