Utica College Admissions to Require TikTok Videos in Lieu of Traditional Applications
UC Admissions announces a surprising and dramatic overhaul of the College's longstanding admissions criteria, now requiring TikTok videos in lieu of traditional applications.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has upended the college admissions process, many institutions have adopted a test-optional policy for the 2020-21 admissions cycle. But at Utica College, where SAT and ACT scores have been optional since 2008, the pandemic has inspired a surprising and dramatic overhaul of its longstanding admissions requirements.
Effective April 1, 2021, Utica College will eliminate nearly all elements of the traditional college application, including high-school transcripts, recommendation letters, and personal statements. Instead, UC will require prospective first-year and transfer students to submit TikTok videos in order to be considered for admission.
According to new guidelines posted to the UC Admissions website, applicants must create “an exceptional and engaging TikTok that reveals an unexpected talent, a choreographed dance, or an amusing anecdote told using auto-tune.”
Jeffery Gates, Senior Vice President of Student Life and Enrollment, says the transition to the TikTok-only application is another example of Utica College embracing emerging trends and taking the lead among its peers.
“Standardized test scores and high-school grades are antiquated measures of a student’s abilities and, frankly, they’re really boring,” says Gates. “Our admissions team realizes that TikTok is the perfect medium for students to showcase their special skills, such as lip-syncing to a Cardi B song for 15 seconds.”
Prospective students seem to be embracing the change, as well. For high-school junior and aspiring Pioneer Aye Prillfooles, the TikTok requirement was welcome news.
“I have been stanning Utica College since I was in middle school, no cap,” says Prillfooles. “My application TikTok is going to hit different, fam. And that’s on periodt.”
For more information on UC's TikTok requirement, visit utica.edu/TikTokApps
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