DVDs give 'accurate picture' of colleges

Today's high-school seniors no longer need to worry about booking plane tickets to prospective colleges. A new series of DVDs created by a company called The U explore America's 50 most-popular colleges, including the University of Washington, allowing seniors to explore their futures while sitting in front of a TV.

"It's like MTV: The College World," commented freshman Nicole Pawluskiewicz after viewing UCLA's video.

Coincidentally, 24-year-old Doug Imbruce, a Columbia University graduate and founder of The U, was inspired to create the videos while watching MTV's Cribs with his dorm mates.

"It was hard to get an accurate picture during the arduous college tours with Mom and Dad and tour guides with Colgate smiles," Imbruce said. "With college being such a huge emotional and money investment, why aren't there resources that speak to students in a fun way?"

Unendorsed by the universities they feature, The U's DVDs provide an unbiased view of campus life, discussing more than admission information, academics, and demographic statistics.

Interviews with undergraduates reveal issues college books and tours may not cover -- what the party scene is like, popular fashion trends and opinions on how hot fellow students are, for instance.

"The DVDs are unauthorized by the universities because we don't want them to sway [the viewer's] judgment," Imbruce explained.

But not everyone was taken with the DVDs. After watching her school's installation, UCLA student Ashley Brown said she was unimpressed.

"[The video] spent way too much time emphasizing how 'hot' all the girls are here and how they tan in their bikinis," Brown said. "Um, no. The students at UCLA are just average kids with average looks and average habits."

WB stars narrate the DVDs, including Kristen Kreuk of Smallville. Everwood's Gregory Smith is one of The U's executive producers.

"The WB's participation ensures pop-culture savvy-ness and allows the network to show its proactivity in students' lives," Imbruce said.

Crews spent five to seven days filming on each college campus. In all, 2,500 students were interviewed and 10,000 filled out surveys. For the first 6-8 months, a 20-person team edited the videos.

"People watch the videos and say, 'Oh, that looks cool,' but they don't realize just how huge the project is and how much effort is put into it," Imbruce said.

Imbruce said he originally formed the idea of The U for Columbia's 2003 Business Plan Competition. After winning its grand prize, as well as the Brown University/Bryant College Business Plan Competition, Imbruce began looking for investors. Months before he graduated from college, Imbruce received seed money from a Connecticut firm, which helped him secure a marketing deal with U.S. News.

"The videos are created for the students, by the students," Imbruce said. "Parents are also excited that there's now a tool that their kids can respond to."

The U re-launched its Web site at the beginning of November, streaming all 50 videos. The DVDs will also be sold as a box set for $39.99. Separated into categories of Ivy League, Northeast, South, Midwest and West, each DVD features eight to 13 different colleges.

Imbruce said The U's future includes videos of another 300 schools in the next two to three years, as well as "religious updates" of the original 50.