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Video App Brings Students' College Applications To Life

BOSTON (CBS) - For decades, colleges have relied mostly on test scores, grades and essays when making decisions on who to admit. But that's changing.

A new app called ZeeMee is adding some personality to that stack of paper so admissions officers can see students in action, in a space where they feel most comfortable.

zeemee
(WBZ-TV)

Ipswich High School senior Hailey McQuaid found out about it when she was applying to the University of Denver.

"One of their questions was if you want to make a ZeeMee account and then link your ZeeMee account to your common app," she explained.

ZeeMee prompts students to answer a series of questions on video and share them directly with college admissions offices.

Students can also upload other videos about additional activities and interests. The app looks a lot like an Instagram feed.

zeemee
Ipswich High School senior Hailey McQuaid uses ZeeMee. (WBZ-TV)

McQuaid believes ZeeMee gives colleges a better sense of what she is really like.

"They could see my face, see what I sound like, get a taste of what my personality would be like," she said.

More than 200 schools now include ZeeMee in their application, including Emerson, St. Anselm and Trinity here in New England.

Even if a college doesn't ask for ZeeMee, students can still add it to the additional information section on most college applications.

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