How Social Media Impact College Admissions
Although admission officers are more focused on evaluating student’s GPA, SAT and ACT scores, letters of recommendation, admissions essays, and extracurriculars, social media profiles are not off limits. According to a survey by Kaplan Test Prep, 36% of admission officers check applicant’s social media profiles. 19% of admission officers say they check social media profiles often. 38% of the admission offers said that what they found had a positive impact on prospective students, while 32% said what they found had a negative impact.
Do Colleges Check Your Social Media? by College Raptor Staff (2022)
A Kaplan survey states that 68% of admission officers believe viewing a prospective student’s social media site is “fair game.” However, only 29% of admission officers investigate student's social media sites today. College admission officers look at posts, comments, images, profile information, older social media accounts, and things students follow. What they find can affect acceptance odds. They can also revoke acceptance if they find unsuitable materials. However, students can use social media to their advantage. For example, students who show their passion and talents on YouTube can tell the officer more about their character and dedication.
Reflection
As I stated in a previous blog post, a student’s digital tattoo and online presence are directly tied to their reputation, which can directly impact their life. In this case, it can affect their chances of being accepted into specific colleges. Although a majority of college admission officers do not visit prospective student’s social media profiles, it is best to err on the side of caution. If admission officer looks at a social media profile, what they find can impact their decision-making process. High schoolers must understand that their online presence and digital footprint have lasting effects. What they post ties in with who they are, including their beliefs, opinions, actions, priorities, and personality. After all, colleges are not just looking at a student's academic skills but also their character. What students post allows others to form opinions on who they are, and those can screw both positively and negatively. Plus, since these posts are only a snapshot of a student's life and sometimes do not have any context, those posts can also be misinterpreted. Therefore, students need to be strategic about what they post because it could reveal who the student is as a person.
However, like Do Colleges Check Your Social Media? stated, students can use social media to their advantage. They can use social media to shed light on their interests, personality, and passions. They can show off their creativity, abilities, leadership skills, awards, and expertise. They can also provide a more-in depth look into their projects. For example, I remember when Ashley Yong, a classmate of mine in high school, decided to post a video about how she skipped senior prom to help the homeless people in Chicago. She took the money she spent on the dance to buy supplies and personally deliver them to the homeless population in Chicago. Ashley Young was already at the top of our class, incredibly dedicated to the clubs she participated in, and was accepted to the University of Missouri-Columbia. The video showed colleges, the community, and people throughout the Midwest of her kind and caring character. This boosted her online reputation on a national scale. It also showed her dedication to raising awareness for those in need. Afterwards, she set up a GoFundMe page and raised thousand of dollars to help the homeless.
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