bsat blog

So in case you missed out coverage on it on Tuesday, or Friday (that's today...unless it's not...) this whole Youtube college application thing has become a pretty big deal in the blogosphere, and even the real world. Some are even raising some pretty serious questions about it, such as Harvard dean of admissions William Fitzsimmons who wonders if it give an advantage to wealthier students?

The answer on the surface would seem like a yes. Students from wealthier backgrounds have more access to high end cameras and video editing software, or could even contract their admissions video essay out to a professional video prodution company that produces commercials or public service announcements.

However, this line of thinking misses some of the point. The thing is Youtube has pretty much democratized internet video. Production standards for successful viral videos are often non-existent. Anyone with a webcam can post something online and make it big overnight. Beyond that Fitzsimmons line of questioning shows a pretty blatant disregard for the multitude of advantages wealthier students already enjoy. It costs a heck of a lot less to produce a creative Youtube video than to hire a private SAT tutor, or pay someone to look over your admissions essay. Plus, Tufts is adamant that their looking at the creativity of a submission, not the compositional quality. If you think about it, by Fitzsimmons' line of reasoning, a wealthy student doesn't have nearly as great an advantage as a student with an interest in film-making regardless of socioeconomic background. Instead the point is that the internet and Youtube have brought video to the point where it can be fairly used as a tool for college admissions by all.