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Creating A Video Cover Letter That Will Get You Into the College of Your Dreams

You’ve found your dream school.
It’s got the perfect campus, an incredible student body, awesome location, and tremendous academic programs that match what you’re looking for.  But applying to college is serious business, and if you’re eyeing the ultimate college experience, you can be sure the competition to get in will be fierce.
So you need an edge.
And a great way to impress a tough admissions office that’s already seeing thousands of applications each year is by creating a video cover letter that captures the interest and brings a much more personal connection to those holding your application’s fate in their hands.
However, before you get started you need to know the essentials that go into putting together an effective video and in this article I’ll show you what those are.
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It’s A Tech-Savvy World
With our world going more and more digital every day, you can give yourself a real edge over other applicants by submitting a digital video cover letter that shows you off to an admissions office in a way that a written letter can’t.  The key being to not just regurgitate what you would have otherwise put down in writing, but to offer a larger, more personable idea of who you are and why your dream college  should want you to attend it.
The 1,2,3s Of Being on Camera
People are drawn to those who demonstrate confidence, and the admissions officers watching your video are no different.  So it’s important not to seem too rehearsed or rigid when making your video.  By staying relaxed and not worrying about coming across like a professional broadcaster, you’ll come across much more authentically and you’ll have a better chance of endearing yourself to whoever’s watching your video.
Just remember, being yourself doesn’t mean a careless, inarticulate approach.  Instead, simply present yourself as you’d like to be perceived by someone you wanted to be impressed by you and you’ll do great.
Offer Variety
While there are key points you’ll want to talk about in your video cover letter such as why you’ve chosen to apply to a particular school, what sort of academics you wish to pursue and why the school is a great fit for who you are and what you’re looking for, you’ll also want to include some relevant personal stuff regarding your background and accomplishments to really get the most of being seen on screen.
Essentially you’re putting on a performance, and no matter how engaging and relaxed you are, you want to keep your audience interested in everything you have to say.
Factor In Logistics
Of course, for an admissions office to see your awesome video cover letter, you need to first get it to them.  A couple of ways you can do this are by either inserting a hyperlink into your online application that will take someone to your video or by including it with your mailed in an application as physical media.
Watch Out For Traps
If your video is going to be on a site like YouTube, you want to keep everything academic and professional while keeping your social life totally separate, i.e. don’t let your friends or family comment on it.  The best way to do this is avoid posting the video cover letter on your main YouTube page and instead, create a professional account that is related to the school you’re applying to
Plan It Out
Keep things short and sweet and don’t go over a couple of minutes.  The goal is to grab their interest and hold it there while you hit all the key points in a dynamic, enjoyable, and efficient way.
And just like creating an outline before you writing a research paper, plan, and blueprint out all your points before you start recording.  This will keep the video smooth and structured while minimizing how many reshoots you have to do to get it right.
Keep It Balanced
One thing is for sure, if you want to impress your dream school, you need to know who you’re talking to and how you’ll adapt to their particular collegiate environment.
By offering info about yourself such as talking about a couple of personal interests that reflect positive aspects of the school, you go long ways to convincing an admission’s officer you’d be a good fit for their college.
However, the key is the balance.  And while you want a personal touch to what you include, you want to stay away from anything too quirky.  It’s a blend of compelling personality mixed with the serious student you’re presenting and you want to integrate the two as seamlessly as possible.
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Close the Deal
So now that you’ve impressed the admission’s office with your video cover letter and they can’t wait to review your application, you want to make sure you end things with a sincere statement asking for the opportunity to be a part of their school.  The admissions officers want to see students who want to attend their college or university, and that little extra push, in the end, will let them know how serious you are.

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