Students who do not find their niche in writing could find a new outlet to express their creative side through video personal statements for the application process at Michigan State University.?

Michigan State will work in conjunction with Collegesupplement.com to allow potential students to embed audio and video statements for their application.

Jim Cotter, director of admissions at Michigan State, said the videos will play a supplemental role in deciding applicant status, which means students will still have to submit a written personal statement. ?

“We’re still making the majority of our decisions [based] on academic standards,” Cotter said.

Applicants will be able to post videos through a free video sharing website similar to Youtube that can then be accessed via Collegesupplement.com, which has both free and premium pay capabilities.?

“The only distinguishing feature between free and premium service is speed and quality of video,” according to Steve Metzman, CEO and founder of Collegesupplement.com.

Cotter said he hopes video personal statements will provide a look into the personalities of applicants.?

“I think it’ll give us insight into what an applicant’s story is,” Cotter said.

Some questioned how easy it would be to view video of even a small part of Michigan State’s 25,000 applicants.

“It just doesn’t lend itself to efficiency or analyzing or considering the points beings made,” said Tom Reason, associate director of UW-Madison Admissions. “Some more authenticity (of applicants) is guaranteed, but it’s not efficient for the UW.”

But Metzman said the videos actually serve as “timesavers.”?

“People asked 20 years ago how we could review 25,000 personal (essay) statements,” Cotter said. “We’ve done it. In the age of a holistic admissions process, the more information the better.”

Reason said he was worried about parents of more affluent students being able to produce more polished video statements.

?”It opens up a strange realm,” Reason said. “I can imagine parents hiring production companies. The last thing we want is the college VMA awards.”

UW-Madison has “not considered” video statements for their application process, Reason added.

Both Cotter and Metzman said they were confident in the discretion of admissions officers.?

“We aren’t looking at the quality of the video — we’re trying to see the story they can tell,” Cotter said.?

Collegesupplement.com was started in September 2007 with support from more than 100 universities. It allows applicants to post both written resumes, including letters of recommendation and academic achievements, as well as multimedia on their website that college admissions officers can then view.

Metzman said he welcomes the mixture of both video and written aspects in future applications processed through the use of the web.?

“That’s what’s nice about Internet content — it adds tremendous depth,” Metzman added.

Cotter said the video submissions will help his university relate to applicants in the information age.?

“From a director’s perspective, (video submission) provides an opportunity for a tech-focused generation,” Cotter said.?