Dive Brief:
- Goucher College in Towson, MD, is now allowing applicants to send in a two-minute video in lieu of standardized test scores, transcripts, and other typical admissions fodder.
- In addition to the video, prospective students who choose that option will have to submit a creative writing sample and a piece of work from high school, but the most weight will be given to the video.
- Transcripts “are predictors of how well you will do in school, not how well you will do in life," José Antonio Bowen, Goucher's president, told Inside Higher Ed.
Dive Insight:
The liberal arts college has had a test-optional admissions application policy since 2007. Goucher’s admissions rate for the last three years has been around 72%, with the freshman class size in the low 400s. While transcripts may be a good predictor of college success, they may also present a stumbling block for prospective students who believe theirs won’t be good enough. Applicants will be judged on the substance of their videos, not how polished they look, so they could be made on a smartphone.
