User beware! Five social media tips for college applicants

It was recently reported that, in a survey of college admissions officers, 40% of respondents admit that they check applicants’ social media profiles during the decision-making process, and approximately one in three admissions officers search online to find out more information on applicants.

What are admissions officers trying to determine about applicants? Perhaps they want to verify that you won a state-level award. Maybe they want to see how popular your blog post really is, or if you actually presented your research findings at a national conference, or maybe they just wanted to put a face to the name.

Whatever the reason, consider these five smart tips when it comes to social media and applying to college:

• View your social media sites – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube – as a whole to see what public image you have created for yourself. Consider your online presence from admissions officers’ perspective. What might they think of you? Are you an engaged and active community volunteer? Have you won awards that have been reported in your local newspaper? Did you really found a successful startup company?
• Be sure to set your privacy settings so that only friends can view your profile and posts. There is no need to have these accounts public. Even with a locked profile, what does your main profile page look like to an admissions officer? On Facebook, are you tagged in a group picture? If so, your picture might be visible to admissions officers through your friends’ pages, even if you have adjusted your privacy settings.
• Delete any inappropriate pictures or posts. Better yet, do not post anything inappropriate in the first place! Examples include: drinking alcohol or attending a party where others are drinking alcohol; using foul language; and making disparaging remarks toward others. You should even be careful with your political views and commentary on current events – you never know if an admissions officer reading your profile agrees with your views on hot-button topics. Use caution when commenting on others’ pictures and posts.
• Google your first and last name – use both your full name and your nickname – followed by your town and/or high school. See what comes up. You may find that you are on YouTube, Vimeo or other sites – without even realizing it. If it’s not appropriate content, contact the people who posted these pictures, comments and videos; hopefully they can remove the posts altogether, if not just your name.
• Use your digital footprint to your advantage. If you are pursuing certain majors, like advertising, art, film or communications, your social media presence can show off your artistic abilities, creativity and passion. You can share your work with admissions officers by creating a private Vimeo or YouTube site and providing the login information in your application.

The importance of social media to an admissions decision varies from one university to the next; even within a university, some admissions officers will check applicants’ social media, while others will not.

It’s also worth noting that some colleges forbid their admissions staff from investigating applicants’ social media profiles. The safest bet? Assume that every admissions officer at every university will check your social media sites.