A few years ago, Brown University transitioned away from alumni interviews and took a more innovative approach by allowing applicants to submit an optional two-minute introduction video. The video component lets prospective students showcase their personalities, interests, and other details not otherwise represented on their applications. This makes students come alive and helps admission officers see the human being behind one application among thousands.
For the most part, Brown’s video introduction is unstructured, which can be intimidating for applicants. Your submission could be about anything: a day in your life, things that make you happy, or even how your life relates to your favorite movie. Despite these loose requirements, it doesn’t mean you can put minimal thought into your video submission. Let’s discuss why this optional application component is so important, plus some tips to help you make a memorable admission video for Brown University or any other college that might offer this option.
How to make a standout admission video
While Brown University says that submitting an admission video is optional, competitive applicants shouldn't consider it as such. As of March 2024, for the 2023–2024 application season, and just 2,521 were accepted—so you should take advantage of every opportunity to stand out to admission officers. This is especially true for students applying to competitive programs like Brown’s Program in Liberal Medical Education, which has just a 3.5% acceptance rate. Knowing how competitive the process is, here are four key tips to make sure your application video stands out.
1. Begin drafting it early
Crafting a well-thought-out admission video requires a lot of time and planning. Depending on your creative direction, you might include childhood movies, pictures of extracurricular activities, or scenes from various aspects of your life. Digging through your video or photo archives might take a few days or even weeks, necessitating assistance from friends or family to help you find the best media to use. Drafting a script beforehand also allows you to maximize on the allotted two minutes and showcase the best version of yourself to impress admission officers. Treat the video introduction with the same level of consideration as your college essays; you’ll likely need to go through several drafts before you are satisfied with the result.
Related: Why It's Smart to Include a Video With Your College Applications
2. Follow the instructions carefully
Each admission video (and specifically Brown’s) should be no more than two minutes long and begin with, "Hi, my name is [your name] from [your high school].” From there, you’ll likely have total creative freedom with what content you want to cover in your video. If you’re applying to other schools that accept application videos, review the instructions carefully to ensure there aren’t more complex requirements. Brown also recommends creating your video in landscape orientation, as the admission officers will be viewing the videos on a desktop computer.
3. Highlight your top selling points
Identify your unique qualities and passions that will be appreciated by admission officers, and make sure these are different from what you’ve already included in your personal statement and supplemental essays. Brown wants you to "tell us more about yourself beyond the information you provided in your application." If you’ve already told them about the nonprofit you started or the research you spent two summers conducting, don't reiterate it here unless you are significantly expanding upon what you already said. Instead of repeating yourself, think about what else might be worthwhile to mention. Do you have unique hobbies? What about your personality and background would make you a stand-out applicant? By considering these questions and more, you can create a video that enhances your application.
Related: How to Make a College Application Video That Will Impress
4. Answer the question: Why this university?
Brown also says this admission video is a "helpful way to see why you are interested in attending Brown." So make sure your video covers how you might fit on campus as a first-year student and contribute to the school. At Moon Prep, we've seen students do this in creative and memorable ways. A few students found clubs they would like to join and photoshopped themselves into group photos of the participants. Others found research labs in their areas of interest and talked about how they would contribute to the lab. Try to add a new dimension to your video to underscore your passion for the particular college or university you’re applying to.
How to submit your video
After you’ve applied to Brown, you will receive a link to your Brown Applicant Portal, where you’ll have the option to submit the video. Please note that it should be submitted no later than one week after the official application deadline. The deadline for Early Decision applicants usually falls in November, or January for Regular Decision applicants. Other colleges and universities offering this option will likely follow similar methods and deadlines for submitting your video, but, as always, pay close attention to each school’s specific rules.
Related: How to Build the Perfect College Application
By creating a curated admission video, you can be confident you have put your best effort into getting accepted to Brown or any other school in the country. These tips can also help you create memorable videos for scholarship applications that may ask for them. Good luck!
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