It is tough to move and start over in a new place during those awkward teenage years. I hope your kid finds a great place to land for the next chapter of her life.
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After participating in some recent programming and discussions, if your student is applying to a school that accepts Glimpse videos, I would encourage they complete one.
I know this will favor students who are comfortable speaking in this format. The reason I recommend doing this video if your student is applying to a college that accepts it, is that it seems these videos are taking on more importance as supplemental essays decrease. How important these videos are in the admissions process at a given school is often (sadly) not transparent.
I don’t think there are any schools that require a Glimpse video, they all state they are optional. There is a one time cost of $22 to send the video to an unlimited number of schools (you can record before you pay.) Fee waivers are available if your student qualifies for free/reduced fee lunch, SAT/ACT fee waivers, etc.
You will also be able to see all the schools that accept these videos once you complete a recording. Initialview, the company that sells this product, states they sent videos to over 400 colleges last year. (ETA they have multiple video products, but the 400+ comment is in the glimpse specific FAQs)
Spoiler alert, not all of the colleges that accept Glimpse videos say that on their websites 
. Glimpse is for domestic students (the original product, Initialview, is for international students.)
To be clear, I don’t work for this company or have any vested interested in it. The whole thing has a bit of an ‘ick’ factor for me. As always, I am concerned that many students don’t often have the best information they need to submit the strongest app they can, hence the PSA.
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WOW! that is weird.
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I can’t seem to find the school list right now, but my impression from a few years ago when one of my kids made a Glimpse, is that a large portion of the schools on the list were using Initialview for international students (sometimes as a required application element), but that did not necessarily mean the same school would consider the Glimpse video from a domestic applicant. It’s possible I misunderstood.
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Ah that is interesting!
I will say one of my kids school does have actual “glimpse” as an option and it is super buried on their website FAQs as an optional submission, which I found kind of weird that isn’t in the regular “application requirements” page. (RPI)
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Yes, it’s unclear the split of schools using Glimpse and Initialview. I will note that the 400+ comment is in the glimpse specific FAQs that I linked above. Initialview doesn’t publish a list of colleges that use their various products. The company also offers two other products (Echo - video recommendation, and Viva - video where a student discusses a project or research.)
Viva was just in the news as CalTech uses it. CalTech’s use of it was highlighted in the recent WSJ article about their fraud squad. https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/college-admissions-caltech-cheating-fraud-squad-f7627aab
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This is one of the things that drives me crazy.
ETA: Glimpse IS mentioned near the bottom of this page (and on the FAQ page as you noted): Apply | Undergraduate Admissions
ETA again: RPI’s CDS Q7 says an interview is ‘not considered.’ These videos are in lieu of interviews for many schools. Box
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you are absolutely correct! oops- buried at bottom under the supplementary stuff for arts portolfio people - lol that usually signals to me I don’t have to read more 
) Shouldn’t assume that since I have looked at 30 websites they are all the same;)
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My S27 was told at school today that he is a National Merit Semifinalist! 
We were fairly hopeful that would be the case, but it’s still very exciting to have that confirmed.
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Congratulations to your son!
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big congrats! great achievement!
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Congratulations! My kid too. (though it won’t likely be useful as she isn’t applying to any of the schools that give big scholarships for it). On the other hand, she didn’t get into either of the fly-ins she applied to, so that’s probably more of a net disappointment summing those two things – she already knew she had a good test score.
Now I have to figure out the National Merit paperwork – specifically why it came to me rather than the school. (kid is homeschooled, but officially a public correspondence school student, so they should have gotten it).
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Sorry about the fly-ins 
that’s a bummer!!
“InitialView, which operates the Glimpse platform, is already integrated directly with over 100 colleges and universities, and InitialView regularly provides its materials to over 400 institutions.”
Is what I am seeing .. is there somewhere else that says 400 colleges/unis?
I know a couple of HSs, around me, that use Glimpse and some summer programs too I believe, that would fall under the 400 “institutions”, I imagine.
though I am shocked that there is SUCH a high number of non-college programs using it?
That’s the one I saw too, they do seem to be playing fast and loose with the numbers. If your kid submits their glimpse video, they should be able to see how many schools will take it. Let us know! 
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Yeah 2 of their schools - RPI and Stevens - say it is optional…I suppose they will do it - but probably not until closer to deadlines - getting through essays and supplements first:) hahah
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For what it’s worth, I also got a “fast and loose with the numbers” vibe from the company, which is why I would remain skeptical on whether a specific college would actually consider an applicant’s Glimpse video if the college’s admissions website doesn’t mention anything about it anywhere, even if the college accepts Initialview from internationals. I might suspect that a college isn’t going to do anything with application materials that don’t have a predetermined place in their process.
All that said, a couple of years ago, one of my kids did the Glimpse for Brown, submitted it to a few more schools on his list that took Glimpse per their websites, and ended up at one of those schools off the WL. No clue whether the video played a role; my suspicon would be super minor or not really at all.
I think it’s worth doing if a school says they’ll take it. My issue is the stress it can cause the kid; they’ve got enough going on with apps as it is. I would keep the focus small and try not to worry. My kid just described a minor experience included in the activity section, thought about it a little, probably sketched out a few bullet points, and recorded in two takes, but then he was a speech and debate kid whose event was extemp (extemporaneous speaking).
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Congrats on your D’s NMSF status, though I’m sorry about the fly-ins. I don’t recall all the details for your D, but she may want to check out Gustavus Adolphus. It’s a liberal arts college about an hour from Minneapolis, has good outcomes for its students, including a number who go on for doctorates in STEM, and offers a full tuition scholarship to NM finalists.
We aren’t 100% sure this will be “useful” to my son either. He wasn’t very interested in looking at any of the schools that give big scholarships without knowing “for sure” that he was at least a semi-finalist. But now that he knows he is, he said he would take a look at the list and see. Since he is planning an engineering major, that takes some schools off the list for him if they don’t offer engineering. Even if he gets a small token scholarship somewhere for being NMF, that would be ok! Every little bit helps.
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