My S25 submitted a Glimpse video to his ED school and was denied. His video overall was good, but I would have loved to be able to edit it! Without any clear guidelines from the schools as to what to talk about, it ends up being a guessing game with how you want to portray yourself.
For the RD round, we opted to only submit one Glimpse video and tailor it to that school. He had something to say that was relevant to his application (that he hadn’t been able to talk about in his essays). None of his other schools wanted the video, even though Glimpse said some of the other schools on his list did (I double and triple checked to make sure!). So, it made the choice easier to send it to only one school.
My S23 had to submit videos, but there were clear guidelines and he was applying with a portfolio to BFA programs. I much prefer that to these “catch all” videos that are supposed to show a different side of your personality. I have no idea how the Glimpse videos are being used in admissions, but my gut says colleges are using it to determine race/ethnicity in a post-affirmative action era.
I hadn’t even heard of Glimpse videos until this very moment, and I’m glad. Those seem like something to stress over and I don’t like it. For one of his scholarship applications S25 had to submit a video, but there was a specific question that they wanted answered/discussed. I didn’t love the video, he’s not the most engaging of speakers in a format like that, but he did it.
On a completely different and unrelated note, something went awry at work today and someone is very unhappy. My team didn’t do anything wrong, but it’s had some (serious) negative consequences that were unforseen. The person affected is MAD. And they basically sent me an email that indicated how mad they are, and that they are going to call me later. I don’t know when later. I’m just sitting here, waiting to be called and yelled at. I’ve got a huge pit in my stomach.
FYI: I came across this video from InitialView (the parent company of Glimpse), and I thought it was interesting. Apparently, the AOs are just listening to the videos and not paying as much attention to creativity. Hard to know if that’s the case everywhere, but I thought it was worth noting. I had my son work up some talking points before he recorded his, and thought his video was somewhat boring, but this gives me a bit of hope that maybe we were on the right track to just focus the content and have him talk directly to the camera.
There is so much else to be stressed out about. Some video that I had never even heard of, especially for a kid who has the smallest possible social media presence, is stuph that I’m glad we are not thinking about. I checked a few of the colleges S25 has applied to, and don’t see any mention of Glimpse. So, I’m going to chuck this one as a bullet dodged.
Well, I hate that you have to be anticipating an ugly call. I’m sure you will be relieved once the call is made, and everyone can start moving on. Good luck.
Yes, the stress. Because there really needs to be more stress in this process (/sarc). And more subjectivity.
The goal most certainly is to come across as authentic and perhaps the Glimpse format is closer to that than an edited video. However… in my opinion, it is entirely contrived. You have to pretend you are authentically talking to a person who isn’t there. Oh, they’ll be there later all right, the AOs, right there in your very bedroom, but not until you submit.
Huge congrats on Stanford! My S24 is there now (REA acceptance, too). I lurk on this forum bc I mentor 2 students through ScholarMatch and the conversations help me.
Like your S25, my S24 didn’t commit right away to Stanford. He kept a few apps in – got in to some, not to others – and decided Stanford in the end.
He is so happy there this year. If you’d like to chat more, please let me know.
Yep, started in September. And the person who is unhappy is someone that I haven’t really had a chance to work with before, so this is a first impression. Barf. Like @fuschiachop said, it will be better once it’s over. But I’ve got to get to the over part.
You are so kind! I certainly would love to hear more about your son’s experience at the school. I’ve read that social life there can be challenging, and my S25 is somewhat introverted. Happy to chat via PM, but honestly don’t know how to do that here.
Well, the call is over and it was not good but not the worst. Rather than getting yelled at it was more like disappointing your dad. Sigh. I like this new job, and I like the people that I’m working with, but I’m having a challenging time settling in. Part of it is that my first friend, who i really liked, has left. That happened in late October, then November and December were a mess with holidays and people being on vacation and I just feel like I’m not making connections like I want. The “good” news is that I’m reasonably confident that after the inauguration we’ll all be required back in the office five days a week, so I’ll be seeing more people more often. I don’t mind going in, and am usually there at least three days anyway, so its not huge for me. But it will be a pain for some of my more distant colleagues who don’t come in often now.
So glad it wasn’t “the worst,” but it sounds uncomfortable. I hope things improve for you at the job! I started a new job in March after being at the same university for 10 years. It’s hard starting over and adjusting, but I’m try to focus on what I do like about the role. I hope you will make more meaningful connections soon. I know it can take time.
Thanks for updating us! I kept checking, as I was hoping it hadn’t been too painful.
We have not, yet. I think there was at least one school on our list that was open to a Glimpse video but by the time I figured it out we were kinda of late in the process and S25 just put his foot down. I am not a fan of this concept – seems like it obviously favors some kids over others and taps into people’s physical insecurities. (My son, who was adorable through middle school, is going through a phase where he most resembles Shaggy from Scooby Doo …if Shaggy were prone to going red in spotches whenever put on the spot. I don’t blame him for being skeptical of anything called “Glimpse”)
I agree with many of the concerns about Glimpse. The bias-unconscious or not, favoring attractive, extroverted kids, etc. Also it is an extra cost for families. Sadly I can see many schools using it in the future as a way to combat the growth of AI used in other areas of the application.
Count me in on the not-overly-enthused about Glimpse. I don’t hate it, and I had much stronger negative feelings about it than D25. In fact, one of her schools gave the option of an interview question (30 sec to prepare, then answer) or making a video. Me? I’d choose the interview question in a heartbeat. Her? Glimpse video. I think some of this is generational, although maybe not since it sounds like your kids might not have been thrilled. But I find that this generation is more used to “creating content”; D25 whipped out a video with two takes and moved on. No, it’s not going to win awards, but it showed her chatting about something she cared about. I’m going to assume that it will be at least net neutral.
I will say, though, that when I heard an interview with the Glimpse creators and they said it was an opportunity to hone the skills they will need in the workforce–selling themselves sort of vibe–that I internally railed. Yes, that may be true, but is there not enough stress on them right now? (Yes, I am ready for all of this to be done.)
p.s. D25 is heading back to dance today. Crossing fingers that the pain will continue to subside and not be flared. I know it’s a pithy (and sometimes loaded/charged) statement, but I sincerely do thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
I wonder what the proportion would be of applicants who don’t want to do a video, but now feel they have to, vs applicants who welcome the “opportunity” to have their literal voice heard in the process.
I understand what they are saying. One of my older kids has already done those sorts of web-recorded one-way “interviews” for internships. But, ick. The kids have enough going on.
