We really wanted to give our applicants a different experience from just the text on websites. So one of the big things we wanted was to give potential applicants a way to see our campus, meet faculty and students, and learn a variety of different things about our program using video as a platform because students nowadays are looking at YouTube, and they're not reading brochures, and they're not reading emails. So being able to click through a variety of videos gives them a real snapshot of our campus in a cohesive all-in-one place.

One of the things that's really useful about having the online experience is that a lot of our applicants are international. So even them seeing the map and understanding that we're at a medical center, not an undergraduate campus, and being able to see that students, how they live here and how they work. That's another big selling point. So attracting people that might never have had the opportunity to come to New York City.

I met StudentBridge at a NAGAP meeting, and I took some of their information, and they followed up. And I couldn't find any other graduate schools that were doing this type of thing, so I thought it really put us in a unique position. I also looked at some of the other work they had done with Boston University, and I really liked what I saw. It was branded to the university really well, and so I thought, "Let's give it a try."

Everyone was super impressed with these videos, including me because I watched all the interviews, and some people aren't as polished. But really, the editing is pretty amazing. Everyone looked good, and they spoke well, and the messages conveyed were just exactly what I wanted to hear. Our dean really likes it. We're gonna present it to the chairs. I think it really sets us apart and makes our department look pretty innovative.