Social Media in College Admissions

Getting into college can be tedious work with researching potential schools, editing essays, collecting positive recommendations, studying for standardized tests and possibly even preparing for a campus interview.  The goal throughout this process is to make a great impression as a very promising college student. 

But, most students born after the rise of mass technology cannot remember life without Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.  Social media outlets that many college admissions professionals have had to learn in the past few years, current incoming college students find as commonplace.  This presents challenges for both higher education institutions and students during the admissions process.

While admissions Counselors are making their best effort to engage students seeking acceptance at their institution, they find some are averse to communicating about college admission via social media outlets.  These student's feelings are not without merit.  Most higher education admissions professionals do not search out information on their recruits via social media, but there are many issues that can arise from social media during the college admissions process with most not improving the student's chances for acceptance.  Anything from questionable blogs, status updates, photos and links could make an admissions professional take pause enough to reflect negatively on the application.

Because students never know when their information will be viewed by admissions professionals is the is best to regulate any future outgoing messages or activities concerning social media to reflect a positive light. One tip is to apply the 'Grandma Test' by determining if it would be appropriate for a grandmother to view the content.  With social media like Facebook, review older posts on the Timeline to either change the privacy setting for non-public viewing or erase the inappropriate communications.