<p>My S received an invitation today to do a video interview through likelive.com for Bucknell. Sounds like it is optional but was just curious if this was broadly sent out or if anyone has more info. Looks like it is not a live interview but you get prompts and record yourself answering the prompts.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Haven’t heard anything about that. Have you done a campus visit? Interesting.</p>
<p>We visited during the Spring last year and took the official tour. We’re in Ohio so not that far away.</p>
<p>I was just coming to see if anyone else was posting about this. My son also got the e-mail. It seems kind of creepy to me. We did do a tour/interview session before and have many family alums. Will you be doing it?</p>
<p>I got it too! I don’t think it can hurt, so why not do it?</p>
<p>My son got the invite also. I’m like I guess you should get a haircut and he just looks at me and sighs. I know he’ll do it though. It seems like a new thing for them as I couldn’t find any info on it.</p>
<p>I also received one- do we know the questions before recording the video? Or do they flash a question and we have to respond on the fly?</p>
<p>My son got an email about this yesterday too. Although he is absolutely comfortable interviewing in a normal setting, and he interviews very well from his past experiences (where he’s had verifiable success), as well as his numerous recent college interviews, both with admissions reps and alum, he’s not crazy about this and neither am I. It feels awkward to sit and talk to a computer moniter without a person on the other end, not really conversing, if you’re not used to something like that. It’s one thing to have a cordial and friendly conversation with a live person. Answering questions “to a camera” is a whole different feel and could give a very stiff and unrealistic impression of what the student is really like. We thought the application process was done and were finally breathing, after he had many complicated applications and many normal interviews with other schools. Now, this…?</p>
<p>I, also, wonder if this was sent out to all students, or just some - and if so, what was that selection based on. Indeed we have been to Bucknell. The LikeLive site makes it sound like this is for students who cannot visit.</p>
<p>And, I find it odd that their own websites clearly states that “Bucknell University does not conduct interviews with prospective students and does not consider them to be part of the application process”. They why are they requesting to get this type of a look at my son? I’m not fond of this, and I think it’s creepy too, in agreement with the above post.</p>
<p>They promise that the recording will be completely private - are they kidding? No one knows where this type of stuff could end up with just one “small” mistake from someone at Bucknell or at the LikeLive organization. (We all know about Bucknell’s “mistake” with their SAT stats in recent years… mistakes happen!) Do we really want to allow our student’s image and voice, recorded, along with their name to be handed over like that? Is anyone else out there concerned about this? Bucknell students work in the admissions office. Who knows if down the road someone (a student employee) is able to access a past image, copy it, and use it to humiliate a student, to play a joke, or worse?</p>
<p>There are many questions in my mind - as to whether they have specific motivations for requesting this at this late time - after clearly stating interviews are not part of the process - or whether someone just made a decision to send these emails out and didn’t really think it through - at all.</p>
<p>In any event, they should have sent the email with more information. As in, whether this request is sent to all applicants or not. And whether it will negatively impact their application if they don’t do it (it’s not clear that this is optional). Or if they do it and they come across stiff and nervous, since indeed this is a “novel” format - that it will be recognized as such. And mostly, why they send this out now, after clearly stating they don’t do interviews or consider them.</p>
<p>Bucknell, please answer these concerns.</p>
<p>@compnerd - Well said.</p>
<p>I definitely share your concerns, if they wanted to include an interview, we could have done that during our visit. An awkward moment during a live interview lasts just that, a moment, but on video it lasts forever. I would feel better about it if there was more info on the actual process, like whether they get the questions in advance, and if not, how long to come up with a response. I actually hate this.</p>
<p>I’d like to know of this is truly optional, or is it like optional essays which you know are really required? I want to tell my son not to bother, but does that mean all the time and effort he has put in was for nothing? Ugh.</p>
<p>I am an applicant and I also got this invitation. I have never visited the campus so I assumed that’s why I got this opportunity. After registering for the site, I expected to see a list of the questions so I could somewhat prepare. However, to my dismay, these are the instructions I received:
<p>I appreciate their attempt to model an interview (although I agree with everyone that this is pretty late in the game & seems to contradict their “no interview” policy). However, I don’t think having a timer count down the seconds you have to answer a question and then repeating it to a camera models the interview process very well.
Part of me wants to do this, but part of me doesn’t. I don’t really worry about “What if my video gets out.” However, I do worry about the questions, the time limit, and potential for messing up a question and having it save automatically to the school. You only get one chance.</p>
<p>Has anyone here done the actual “interview” yet?</p>
<p>My daughter also got the email and decided not do the video interview. She felt it was weird (creepy). I fully support her decision. I have many of the same questions and privacy concerns as have been posted above. Plus, I think there’s a decent possiblity of her video not turning as perfectly as she would want (since there’s only one take to get it right) and it might end up harming rather than helping her application as a result. </p>
<p>While the email didn’t specifically say it was optional, we both felt that it was since it was phrased it as an “opportunity”. Yes, sometimes those “optional” things really mean “suggested”, but in this case, due to what is on their website (they don’t do interviews or consider them as part of the admissions process), I have to believe that she won’t be penalized for not taking this “opportunity”.</p>
<p>I have to ask, are you sure that this invitation is completely legit? I shared this thread with my D ('12 grad, she worked in admissions for 3 1/2 years) and she questioned whether or not it’s “real”. Historically Bucknell has not given on-campus interviews…</p>
<p>Anyhow, she’s checking with a friend who is still there working in admissions to see if he knows anything about it.</p>
<p>The invite came from <a href=“mailto:admissions@bucknell.edu”>admissions@bucknell.edu</a> Chrissy Findlay, Asst. Dean of Admissions so it seems legit but we’d love feedback from your daughter’s friend.</p>
<p>I agree, justamom5465 - if your daughter can get some information from admissions that would be great. In the meantime, my son spoke to his guidance counselor about this, who had not yet heard about it at Bucknell - but she said that Tufts began doing video interviews last year, and that maybe this is a new trend going forward. I think at some point, though, the universities need to hear back from the students and their families. But most would not be eager to draw attention to themselves and put their admission on the line. Maybe your daughter could get the word to admissions that there are concerns in the applicant community, and that at least from the perspective of the activity here - the majority of the feedback leans that way. I’d hope they would understand that not many students would be willing to call their admissions rep to voice their concerns about it and take the risk to draw that attention to themselves. In my experience in these types of issues, too few are willing to raise their voices - because they know too few will do just that - and thus risk looking like a minority complainer rather what is, in reality, a voice that represents the true, albeit silent, concerns of the majority.</p>
<p>Anybody go ahead and do it? My son had set aside time tonight, but now he has the flu. Ahh, the price of procrastination. I wonder if there is a deadline for this, I don’t have access to the email to look at it.</p>
<p>there is no deadline stated. if your son does it, can you let us know what the process was like as far as the ability to prevent something a student feels turned out undesireable from actually being saved?</p>
<p>Seems to be legit…</p>
<p>[Bucknell</a> University invites student prospects to upload a video](<a href=“http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/campus_inq/Bucknell-University-invites-prospects-to-upload-a-video-.html]Bucknell”>Bucknell University invites student prospects to upload a video)</p>
<p>The only Bucknell-oriented source for this article is the email that was sent to students. Every single quote in the article comes directly from the email, except for the one where “Bucknell declined to discuss the venture”. In other words, Bucknell-sourced information in this article is completely taken only from the email. The rest of the information comes from the man who developed the website, who has an obvious vested interest in promoting his service.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s legit. But we still have no information from Bucknell as to how this will be used in evaluating students and/or whether students are strongly advised to take part in it, or whether students who don’t take part will not be penalized in any way. There was also no deadline given and given that admission answers are only weeks away - shouldn’t there be some sort of a deadline? And it still contradicts blatantly their statement that is still on their website that interviews are not part of their admissions process.</p>
<p>Bottom line - Bucknell needs to provide more information than just the mass email that was sent out. It isn’t quite fair to the students for them to have received such a request to participate in such a new/novel/unknown format, with so little depth of information, this late in the process.</p>
<p>Okay I just picked up the phone and called Bucknell admissions directly to get some more info about LikeLive. The woman I spoke with confirmed it is something new they are trying this year and that the invitation was sent to all RD applicants. She assured me it is 100% optional and it is really targeted to applicants who live far from campus (West Coast, International, etc) who have not had the opportunity to visit the college. She said students who choose not to participate will not be penalized in the admissions process. </p>
<p>Many other colleges are jumping on board with on-line interviewing including Pitzer, Wake Forest, USC, Hamilton and WashU. IMHO it is a great opportunity for a student to add another dimension to his/her application and to show the personality that goes along with the GPA and test scores.
Regardless of whether your child chooses to participate in LikeLive or not ---- it just isn’t worth getting stressed about. Good luck to all the kiddos!!</p>
<p>Thanks NYGmen, this helps. Yes, would be great not to stress out - but easier said than done depending on their situations. Some kids are pretty burnt out by what can be a grueling application process. S decided not to do it.</p>