I can imagine this making a difference for some applications, through (mostly, but not always) unconscious biases based on applicants’ dress, physical appearance, etc. Application readers will of course be very careful about this, but unconscious impulses are, by definition, hard to consciously prevent. It still happens in all walks of life, but hiring policies (for instance) are designed to minimize such problems - for one, applicants are often asked not to include a photo, or at the very least they aren’t encouraged to do so.
If this was a company’s new hiring policy, the whole legal department just might have a coronary.
@fluffernutter I disagree. A poorly done anything, app, essay, activities section and yes, a zee mee, can hurt. I think the vast majority of kids run the risk of hurting themselves with a poorly done one, or on the flip side having their authenticity actually questioned if it is too well done. I don’t see that most kids need one to show who they are in the best possible way.
That said, I can see that there may be some exceptions. @Mom2aphysicsgeek 's D is a great example of that and would be hard pressed to find another good way to showcase her ability in a more traditional supplement.
To @NotVerySmart’s point. I currently do not allow my testifying experts (engineers) to have head shots on their CV’s for exactly the reasons outlined.
@NotVerySmart That is exactly what I thought of when I saw this. The school will be able to see how attractive the student is, what type of clothes he or she wears (both budget and style), pictures of the applicant’s home or friends, and a host of other items that will subconsciously be considered in the application evaluation. I really don’t like this at all.
As with many aspects of the college application, one can just do it and believe it to be good enough, or get bogged down pondering exactly what would be best to include and precisely how to portray those things. For example, for the background section, I admit to having advised D to select one of the photos of her with friends/teammates that better showcased her school’s diversity. She truthfully does have a diverse group of friends, but there are shots of her with her fellow distance runners and they are mostly white kids. But feeling like she probably needs to finesse this stuff makes me sick. Yet, being realistic, we all know that now there is a conventional way shots of school students should look and the colleges themselves carefully select photos that conform.
Kids that interview with adcoms, alumni, or scholarship committees are “seen.” It is already part of the process.
@TheGFG Dd included one family picture and that was it. She didn’t include any pictures with friends, etc. Her zeemee page is minimal. She has a picture of herself receiving an award, a family picture, 2 videos in foreign languages, pictures of awards, images of essays written in foreign languages, and images of a book she translated. That is it. It isn’t meant to encompass more than the highlights of her application. (And being in the middle of 8 kids is a part of her essay, otherwise I am not sure she would have even included a family picture (which is a silly outdoor picture, not a family portrait.)
For a kid who wants to show off visual or performing art or something of that nature, maybe this makes sense, but I think kids like that have been submitting portfolios or tapes already. Photos of kid with friends and family or participating in hs activities? Seems like a bad idea to me opening the door to all kinds of bias and discrimination.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek , I am pretty amused by your statement of “that’s it”, and you then list about twenty amazing "that’s it"s that are pretty darn impressive.
I am intrigued by the potential legal problems here. I have done slide shows and newsletters for a social service agency and had to get formal signed written releases from every single person who was caught on camera, including many homeless, some of whom were not competent to give permission. It was complicated.
I wonder if this is a response by colleges to standardize submissions of supplemental materials. I have read that kids have been submitting all kinds of “crazy stuff” on video. It is true, though, that musicians, dancers, writers, filmmakers, photographers, actors and other artists have been able to submit an arts supplement for years now (as long as the talent warrants it, Ivies do welcome this). So in some ways it is fair for those with other interesting interests or activities to be able to show them.
However I find this to be a total turn off. I think colleges should simply allow an “EC supplement” in a similar way that arts supplements have been done forever. Totally optional and only if warranted.
@lindagaf LOL. You haven’t seen some zeemee videos! My dd’s looks very homemade. Some are definitely professional and very polished. (With super impressive kids.).
htt ps://m. youtube. com/watch?v=rrT2GKI0G6A
That young lady’s video definitely sells her talent. But the quality of the video with the music and cuts looks professional. I don’t begrudge her using zeemee to market herself. I figure adcoms will see immediately my dd’s was done at home. No biggie to me bc her videos still demonstrate her (much more boring) abilities.
Zeemee recommends that the video be kept to1 minute or less, because admissions officers are very busy. They also recommend that when you submit your link on the Common App you type a message like, “Please take a moment to check out my Zeemee page” so they know it won’t take them too long lol.
My son has just finished his ZeeMee. He was encouraged by his counselor at school to do one to highlight a few performing arts he is involved in. It didn’t take very long and as for pictures, with all that is thrown around on social media, I just don’t think it’s a problem. I don’t think this is a required thing~at all, however it does seem to be another way to reach out and show off (if you will) anything visual. I don’t think many colleges will spend much time on it, and as above said, interviews “show” the student too. Who knows? Maybe in the future ALL college apps will be visual!
I wouldn’t submit photos or videos without getting a signed release from everyone who’s in them. And if they’re minors, the release has to be signed by the parents.
My kid made a Zee Mee. Kid was frustrated that his 4 year passion EC had to be boiled down to 150 characters on the Common App. How is a complicated, team-based EC and his role supposed to be boiled down to such a short bit. I think Zee Mee really showed the depth of his participation and proved out his impact on the group. It might not be for everyone—but with the Coalition Locker, etc., I think college admission is going to become a bit more dimensional. I definitely think it will be helpful to any adcom that views it (but many may not).
