"Webisodes" Offer Insight into Life on Campus

"But what is it really like?"

Veteran admissions officers who have heard hundreds of variations on that question can still find it difficult to answer. The best way to get a feel for the place is to visit the campus, says Director of Admissions Communications Maureen McGonigle.

"But not everybody has the means — or the time — to do that," she acknowledges.

That's why the Admissions Office developed four "webisodes," short videos about life at Bryn Mawr that are available as streaming media on the Admissions Office's Web site. The webisodes are being unveiled one at a time, every few weeks as the fall semester progresses. Prospective students who have expressed an interest in applying to Bryn Mawr get an e-mail notification as each new video is posted.

The students in the current applicant pool — they're called Millennials, in the industry jargon — have grown up with Web technology, and they have come to expect multimedia content, McGonigle says.

"They're inundated with information about colleges, and it can be time-consuming and tedious to sort through it all," she says. "Visual media tend to grab their attention and help them decide what's worth reading."

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Jenny Rickard enthusiastically welcomed a project that could help the College stand out, McGonigle says.

Using the questions admissions officers most often hear from prospective students, admissions officers plotted out a basic structure for the videos and then asked Bryn Mawrters — current students and alumnae — to give their answers.

They also drafted an alumna to produce the webisodes. Sheena Joyce '98 is the co-founder of 9.14 productions, whose 2005 documentary Rock School earned raves from critics and a standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival.

The first webisode, posted in September, is titled "Firsts"; it deals with students' hopes, excitement and anxiety on the first day of college.

"It's an experience we all have in common," McGonigle says, "feeling exhilarated and enthusiastic, but also apprehensive. People who have gone through it talk about the emotions they felt, and I hope that will help humanize the process for students who are just beginning it."

The currently featured second webisode deals with campus life. Two more videos will be rolled out later this fall: "Beyond Bryn Mawr" focuses on the proximity of the city of Philadelphia and the College's relationships with Haverford, Swarthmore and the University of Pennsylvania; "The Bryn Mawr Experience" gives an overview of the intellectual life of the College and its focus on undergraduate education.

To view the latest webisode and the previous installment, go to http://www.brynmawr.edu/admissions/webisodes.shtml. The videos have also been added to Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/brynmawrcollege; Youtube members can subscribe to the College's video channel there.

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