Following up on my previous post, Columbia Ends Video Required Of Law School Applicants After Critics Called It An End-Run Around Affirmative Action Ban:  Law.com, Columbia Law Is Taking Heat, But Law Schools Accepting Video Submissions Isn't New:

Columbia Law School briefly required a video statement to be submitted by law degree transfer applicants—and has since been taking heat from it in the media, being accused of skirting a new law on affirmative action—but other law schools have required or accepted video submissions for years, according to a review of those policies.

The Washington Free Beacon was the first to report on Columbia Law’s video submission policy, claiming that it was a way for the school to skirt the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on race-based college admissions.

“Columbia Law School introduced a pilot program in May 2023 that required J.D. transfer applicants to submit a video statement as part of their application for admission,” a Columbia Law School spokesperson told Law.com on Tuesday. The spokesperson said that pilot program has concluded, adding that video statements will not be accepted as part of the fall 2024 J.D. application process that starts in September.

“It was inadvertently listed on the law school’s website and has since been corrected,” the spokesperson said.

Was it simply bad timing that Columbia Law’s policy coincided with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling, in Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, that Harvard and the University of North Carolina’s race-conscious admissions policies violated the Constitution, effectively condemning affirmative action in higher education?

According to a review of other law school policies, Columbia’s program wasn’t a novel concept. A number of schools have long accepted—if not required—a video submission. …

Dave Killoran, CEO of PowerScore Test Preparation, said making video submissions required rather than optional is unusual.