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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Video adds a personal touch to an often impersonal1 process
Kavitha Cardoza | Washington, DC 22 March 2010
Elsa Vande Vegte's video submission2 is a favorite of the GMU admissions staff.
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George Mason University
GMU Videos
Paola's video
Elsa's video
Along with test scores, high school transcripts3 and carefully written essays, some college applicants4 are now making their case for admission on video. For the first time, a few U.S. universities are allowing students to submit video essays as part of the application process.
Elsa Vande Vegte lives in Minnesota but she really wanted to convince the admissions staff at George Mason University in Virginia that she was a perfect fit for the school. So she picked up her ukulele and - with the camera rolling - explained that she felt it was easier to express herself through music.
Then she launched into her original George Mason song, which included lyrics5 like, "Dear George Mason, I really love your school, if I were accepted I would follow all the rules," and "I know I'm making the right choice, it's where I'm supposed to be."
George Mason University in Virginia is one of a few US colleges that allows prospective6 students to include a homemade video with their application.
Vande Vegte says she found the experience of creating a video essay fun, but also challenging. She had to learn how to use a video camera and compose the lyrics.
Multi-media approach
This is the first year George Mason University has allowed college applicants to submit a video essay instead of a written one. Andrew Flagel is the school's Dean of Admissions. He says approximately 80 students danced, rapped and sang their hearts out as they showcased their talent in video essays.
The most important part of the application is still a student's academic record, but Flagel says a video helps personalize the application. "It gives them an opportunity to tell their own stories. And I think they really feel the need to do that in what increasingly seems an impersonal process."
Paola Ogadzhanova is applying to George Mason from Kentucky. She moved to the United States about 15 years ago from Khazakstan. She says a written essay would only have allowed her to tell admissions officers about her Russian heritage. The multimedia7 format8 let her show them her bilingual skills while also highlighting her community activities with photographs.
Paola Ogadzhanova delivered part of her video essay in Russian, with English subtitles9.
She says the video perfectly10 captured her outgoing personality. "It automatically adds a deeper element than would writing it on a piece of paper. For me it was exciting, like an open door, so I knew that if I made a video my chances automatically rose on being accepted."
New opportunity for the YouTube generation
Ogadzhanova thinks because her generation is so comfortable with new technology, more universities will begin offering this option.
Tufts University in Massachusetts has. It encouraged this year's hopefuls to share a one-minute video that says something about themselves. About 1,000 of the school's 15,000 applicants did.
George Mason Admissions Dean Flagel says what really surprised him was how many students were willing to post their application videos online and publicly declare the school they wanted to attend.
"That comfort level with a different threshold of privacy is probably one of the things that will be the hardest for admissions officers of my generation to adapt to," he says.
Elsa Vande Vegte, for one, says she's not concerned at all about looking back on her composition years from now. "This video is almost like an electronic tattoo11. If I do see this video in 20 years, it'll remind me of who I was."
Like the other applicants, Vande Vegte still has to wait until April 1st to find out whether she's been accepted to GMU. But it's probably a good sign that her song tops the admissions staff's list of favorites on their website.
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impersonal
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| adj.无个人感情的，与个人无关的，非人称的 | |
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submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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3
transcripts
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| n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本 | |
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applicants
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| 申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 ) | |
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lyrics
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| n.歌词 | |
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prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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multimedia
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| adj.多种手段的，多媒体的；n.多媒体 | |
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format
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| n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排 | |
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subtitles
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| n.说明字幕，印在外国影片上的对白翻译字幕，译文对白字幕；小标题，副标题( subtitle的名词复数 )；（电影的）字幕 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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tattoo
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| n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于 | |
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