Perhaps because of UCLA Anderson’s close ties to Hollywood and to the media and entertainment industries, the school has taken the lead in offering alternative essay questions to applicants—alternative in the sense of involving a nonwritten response. Anderson began by offering applicants the option to submit a short audio recording of their answer to one essay question, and in the 2009–2010 application season, began soliciting short video clips that answer one of two questions. In the 2010–2011 application season, applicants could answer the question “What is something people will find surprising about you?” via audio response (up to 2 minutes in length), video response (up to 1 minute in length) or essay (250-word maximum). If you’re considering applying to Anderson and have no idea how you might begin answering an essay question via audio or video clip, visit the Anderson Web site to see and hear original video and audio essay submissions from members of the Class of 2012, including “Mechanical Flower,” “Word Nut” and “My Dark Secret.”
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