The Commons

What do you get when you combine the increasingly competitive college admissions process with the age of social media? YouTube videos as a college application supplement, of course. At least that is what Tufts University has started to accept this year. In addition to poring through the traditional essays, recommendations and transcripts, this year Tufts admissions staff has added a YouTube video as an optional supplement to their application. Tufts is already known for offering quirky options for application supplements – among this year’s choices, one may write an essay in response to the question “Are we alone?,” “create something” out of a sheet of paper, or write a short story with the title “Drama at the Prom.” So the option to “Share a one-minute video that says something about you” does not seem that abnormal for this University. And frankly, given the way social media has come to dominate so many young people’s methods of communication these days, it’s not that surprising that prospective students are seizing the chance to use one of the most popular social media sites to express themselves to colleges.

The number of Tufts applicants choosing the video option has been significant, but not overwhelming – about 1,000 of the 15,000 applicants this year submitted videos. The responses range from students showing off card tricks to day-in-the-life montages to flying a remote-controlled blue-elephant helicopter (representing Tufts’ mascot, Jumbo the Elephant). Some of the videos have even gathered a YouTube following – the most popular one features Amelia Downs; her video has gotten more than 6,000 views.

So what does this all mean? Will videos ultimately replace the written essay? Tufts admissions staff insists that they remain “committed to the traditional essay-writing requirement” and that videos are genuinely optional. But this is clearly the year of the video for colleges and universities – between the “Lipdub” phenomenon and Yale’s YouTube musical “That’s Why I Chose Yale,” universities’ staff and students are increasingly turning towards video as an effective means of marketing their institution. So it seems natural that prospective students are likewise using this medium to market themselves. Only time will reveal to what extent video and other social media vehicles will come to dominate the higher education communications sphere.

What do you think about colleges allowing prospective students to submit application videos? Do you foresee the end of the traditional college essay? Share your thoughts in our comments section.

Tags: admissions, college application, higher education, interactive, resources, social media, technology, trends, web 2.0, YouTube