Social Media in College Admissions

To no one’s surprise, social media has become a major factor in college admissions. Admissions coaches like me have been saying it for a long time, and that national media has finally caught up with our “secret.” Yes, what is posted online is there forever. Yes, it can affect whether or not your son/daughter is invited to the college of his or her choice.

Let's start with the good news first: with the launch of LinkedIn’s University Pages and the availability of the platform to teens 14 years old and up, students have more access to information that can help them make an informed decision about where to apply to college. This is a good thing. LinkedIn used to limit its availability to persons 18 years old and up, so having access to this very professional tool is a tremendous asset.

On the other hand, teens need to be more aware than ever of what they do online.

Here are some stats to bring it home:

• 26% of admissions officers look up students on Facebook
  
• 27% of admissions officers Google applicants’ names

That’s over a quarter of all admissions officers who are checking applicants out online——a phenomenal number that is only going to grow. What that means for your teenager is that it’s more important than ever to be careful about what they post online. 

Why be careful? Here’s another sobering stat: 35% of admissions officers reported that they found something that negatively impacted their view of an applicant when looking him or her up online. 

Don’t take chances: Keep your high school student’s social life offline. For this and more admissions tips, visit the rest of my website. Remember that our first meeting via Skype is free—so why not make an appointment today?