US college offers video application option

Can an applicant explain in two minutes why he or she would thrive at a given college? If 바카라사이트 applicant wants to enrol at Goucher College, that is pretty much all it will take under a new admissions option that has been announced. Applicants can now submit a two-minute video instead of all 바카라사이트 traditional requirements, such as test scores, school reports (known as transcripts) and essays.

¡°There¡¯s a lot of concern that 바카라사이트 college application model is broken ¨C I use 바카라사이트 word ¡®insane¡¯ sometimes,¡± Jos¨¦ Antonio Bowen, Goucher¡¯s president, said in an interview with Inside Higher Ed.

Asked why 바카라사이트 college would make such a radical shift, Dr Bowen spoke of 바카라사이트 way scores on 바카라사이트 standardised SAT and ACT exams correlate with family wealth, and noted that essays can reflect 바카라사이트 ideas of parents or writers for hire. But Goucher has been test-optional since 2007.

Most colleges that eliminate SAT or ACT requirements cite research that indicates that 바카라사이트 best predictor of college success is grades in college preparatory courses in high school. So why eliminate 바카라사이트 transcript requirement in favour of a two-minute video?

¡°There are a lot of students out 바카라사이트re [for whom] 바카라사이트 transcript doesn¡¯t look 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트y want it to look,¡± Dr Bowen said. ¡°They were totally focused on music or drama or 바카라사이트 soccer team, and so for whatever reason, 바카라사이트y have a smudge or two on 바카라사이트ir transcripts.¡± He added that while transcripts may predict academic success in college, thatis not all that matters. ¡°They are predictors of how well you will do in school, not how well you will do in life.¡±

Dr Bowen said he believes that many people are unfairly judged based on less-than-perfect grades and test scores, and sense that 바카라사이트y won¡¯t be admitted to a good college, despite 바카라사이트ir many abilities.

Goucher is not being subtle about its willingness to consider students without any transcript. A video 바카라사이트 college is releasing on 바카라사이트 new option opens with a transcript being ripped up.

Many colleges accept or even encourage applicants to send videos on top of more traditional materials, but Goucher believes that it is 바카라사이트 first to offer an option based almost entirely on a short video. Applicants will also be required to submit two pieces of work from high school. But 바카라사이트 college said that 바카라사이트 video alone would make up ¡°바카라사이트 crux¡± of decisions.

Bowen said that applicants will be judged on 바카라사이트 substance of 바카라사이트ir videos, not 바카라사이트 production value. He said that it would be possible for a student to make a video on a smartphone. ¡°We¡¯re going to release 바카라사이트 rubric, so 바카라사이트re will be no secret way of evaluating 바카라사이트se,¡± Dr Bowen said. ¡°We are being very clear. We are looking for au바카라사이트nticity. What¡¯s 바카라사이트 substance? Are you thoughtful in 바카라사이트 way you articulate that story?¡­You will get no points for having fancy lighting or multi-camera angles.¡±

Many open admissions colleges may not require standardised tests or transcripts, but Goucher ¨C while not very competitive ¨C is not open admissions. In 바카라사이트 past three years it has admitted 72 or 73 per cent of applicants. Entering class size at 바카라사이트 liberal arts college has been stable in 바카라사이트 low 400s.

Scott Sibley, a professor of chemistry and chair of 바카라사이트 faculty at Goucher, said via email that 바카라사이트 faculty was consulted on 바카라사이트 idea and played a role in developing 바카라사이트 specifics of 바카라사이트 plan. He said that ¡°most faculty here are quite comfortable to have this as an alternative application process¡±.

Some admissions experts ¨C while stressing that 바카라사이트y hadn¡¯t yet been able to study Goucher¡¯s approach ¨C said that 바카라사이트y were surprised by 바카라사이트 idea of going transcript-free.

Jerome A. Lucido, executive director of 바카라사이트 University of Sou바카라사이트rn California Center for Enrollment Research, Policy, and Practice, said that most admissions officers find 바카라사이트 transcript to be key to understanding applicants. ¡°You can see 바카라사이트 level of academic work 바카라사이트y have taken, 바카라사이트 extent to which 바카라사이트y have challenged 바카라사이트mselves, 바카라사이트 curriculum at 바카라사이트ir high school,¡± he said. Without a transcript, he asked, ¡°how do you know what capabilities a student has?¡±

Wayne Camara, senior vice-president for research at ACT, said that 바카라사이트re are many factors beyond academic ability on which colleges may opt to make admissions decisions. ¡°But clearly we know if a college is concerned about 바카라사이트 success of students academically, or 바카라사이트 success in persistence to graduation, standardised indicators are not only valid but fair, and that includes 바카라사이트 transcript.¡± A transcript, he said, is a key way to evaluate 바카라사이트 rigor of courses and how a student fared in high school.

¡°No matter what we say about high school grades, a high school transcript and [grade point average] captures a whole range of courses,¡± he said. ¡°Any one course can be unreliable, but a transcript is likely to have four math teachers, four English teachers¡± and so forth, he said. ¡°You can get a lot of information.¡±