The Report:

According to an article from USNews.com many college admissions officers are beginning to use Facebook as a way to get to know prospective students. Your college application is ranked based on your academic success in high school, extra-curricular activities, and ACT or SAT scores. What does your Facebook page suggest about you to admissions representatives? A survey of 359 colleges and universities showed that 24% of admissions professionals used Facebook to get background information about prospective students. Although policies for this type of searching are not fully implemented in every school across the country, it’s definitely a source many schools use. In the same survey of admissions professionals, 12% reported that vulgar language or alcohol consumption in pictures negatively impacted views on prospective students.

The Breakdown:

Although privacy settings have evolved over the past several years, using judgement when posting anything to the web is extremely advisable. Your internet footprint remains in corners of the deep web even if you aren’t aware of it and may or may not have consequences with regards to college admission potential. While it might be annoying to have to filter your social media sites and monitor your privacy settings, you will probably thank yourself later.

Your Opinion:

Do you think college admissions representatives should check social media webpages? Share your comments in the box below!

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