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Updated June 8, 2022You’re reading an excerpt of Admitted by Soundarya Balasubramani. Written by an Ivy League graduate from India, this is the proven guide for students worldwide looking to pursue undergraduate or graduate study abroad in the U.S., Canada, or Europe. Purchase for instant access to the guide and other exclusive resources—including sample SOPs, sample resumes, scholarship lists, and a private community with other readers.
Ideally, you should aspire to shoot the video in one sitting and preferably in the same location. But, if that isn’t possible and you end up shooting bits and pieces, no problem! There is enough technology out there that will do the job of stitching these together.
There are three stages in the editing process:
Stitching it together: Use some of the freely available apps, such as Quik, Blender, or Lightworks, to stitch the videos together (assuming it’s not a single shot). Sai used the Quik mobile app and managed to edit his entire video in less than an hour. These apps also let you add images and text in between as needed.
Removing noise: Even after controlling the external factors, there could still be noise that crept into your video. In such cases, we recommend using software such as Audacity, which is intuitive, user-friendly, and quick.*
Adding music: A silent background can be considered eerie. So, we recommend you add a mellow background music that does not overpower your voice and keeps the video pleasant.
At the end of it all, you should have a few minutes of video that you’re very proud of.
Although this is optional, we sincerely hope you give it a shot. Best case scenario? The university loves it and awards you with an admit. Worst case scenario? You don’t get admitted, but have a memorable video that will bring a smile to your face after a few years.
Great, let’s now switch our focus to the other optional component: diversity essay.
Most universities don’t ask you to write essays aside from your statement of purpose. However, we’ve noticed from experience that some, like Dartmouth,* and Purdue* do ask you to write a diversity essay.
In fact, this essay is a key requirement for you to be considered for certain fellowships at Purdue University, namely The Purdue University Doctoral Fellowship, David M. Knox Fellowship, and George Washington Carver Fellowship.
These are fun additions to your application, as they make you think about questions you wouldn’t normally think about.