Do college admission officers look up the social media accounts of their applicants when deciding whom to accept and whom to reject? Some do and some don’t, but according to a recent article in the U.S. News & World Report, a substantial number of colleges and universities pay attention to what applicants have posted on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
In fact, statistics from a recent study indicate that 35 percent of college admission officers in the U.S. have reported looking at the social media accounts of their prospective students to learn more about them. According to the study, they believe that “social media can provide a more authentic and holistic view of applicants beyond the polished applications.”
College-bound students, therefore, should be very careful of the images they are projecting of themselves on social media sites. Among the type of posts that admission officers view negatively are those of students brandishing weapons and those where students use obscene language. After all, the job of college admission officers is to identify students who will not only succeed academically, but will also reflect positively on their institution.
Of course, college-bound students can use social media to their benefit. In a move to attract high school students, LinkedIn, a site frequently associated with professional and career networking, lowered its minimum age requirement from 18 to 14 years a few years back. This provides younger students with an opportunity to create elaborate LinkedIn profiles, highlighting their extracurricular activities, athletic feats, volunteer work, advanced classes, and any other accomplishments that would likely impress admissions officers. When the time rolls around to apply to college, students can simply include a link to their profile on their applications.
While social media, in its many forms, is an integral part of students’ lives, by being aware of what they are posting and utilizing it to their benefit, ambitious high schools can find it to be an invaluable tool in the competitive college admissions process.
Susan Alaimo is the founder and director of SAT Smart in Hillsborough that has been offering PSAT, SAT, and ACT preparation courses, as well as private tutoring by Ivy League educated instructors, for more than 25 years. Visit www.SATsmart.com or call 908-369-5362.