Do Schools Have a look at Social Media to Determine Admissions?
8 min read
Do faculties take a look at social media earlier than admitting college students? Sure, faculty and college admissions departments can inspect teenagers and 20-somethings by way of public-facing social media platforms. Whether or not they truly do that, nevertheless, is one other query.
About 65{f498bfbc14aad8076dba67f4ec2f0027b859803b996cd413e4575c851aff239e} of admissions officers view social media as “honest recreation” when evaluating potential enrollees, based on a survey carried out by Kaplan Take a look at Prep in 2020. With that stated, solely 36{f498bfbc14aad8076dba67f4ec2f0027b859803b996cd413e4575c851aff239e} of the 313 officers surveyed stated they really took the time to browse candidates’ TikTok, Instagram and different accounts.
Right here’s what to learn about why faculties take a look at your social media, and how you can tailor your feeds to assist, not hurt, your possibilities of admission.
Why some faculties take a look at your social media accounts
Sure, faculties can take a look at the general public model of your social media accounts, however they don’t have some type of secret, government-like energy to entry your personal data. It’s more likely that your social media habits would solely be dropped at their consideration if it causes a stir.
| Admissions officers who view social media as “fair game” |
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| ● 2020: 65{f498bfbc14aad8076dba67f4ec2f0027b859803b996cd413e4575c851aff239e} |
| Data: Kaplan |
Barring notable online behavior, admissions officers are more concerned with factors like your grade transcripts and standardized test scores as well as your college application essay. But although schools want students who are capable of performing in the classroom, they also want people who will be a positive part of a diverse yet safe campus.
What you don’t want colleges to see on your social media
It’s not hard to figure out what types of digital infractions might harm your chances of college admission or financial aid. But here are two buckets of behavior to avoid:
Evidence of underage drinking or other illegal behavior
There’s nothing wrong with many high school party pictures. They might actually help you. For one, admissions officers want to enroll well-rounded students who have social lives.
For another, the photos might show that you’re comfortable interacting with different kinds of peers. Just ensure the images put you in a positive light and can’t be misinterpreted.
Insensitive or offensive language or content
Yes, college campuses are ripe for debate, even protest, and admissions officers won’t necessarily shy away from opinionated students who have a platform. But be wary of offending someone else’s views in the process of your social media posting. Words or pictures that disparage anyone else should be considered off-limits.
One test to avoid overstepping the line: Would you share this experience or opinion during an in-person sit-down with the admissions officer? If not, you have your answer.
To be on the safe side, also consider avoiding posts that are meant to be funny but could be misunderstood. You could be punished by perception, not reality.
| Ways to limit how colleges look at your social media |
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Adjust privacy settings to limit who can view your contentWhat you do want colleges to see on your social media
When applying to colleges or graduate schools, your first thought might be to check your privacy settings on popular platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
Although that’s a safe choice, consider your social media profiles as vehicles to tell a positive story to admissions officers. In fact, according to the Kaplan survey, 42{f498bfbc14aad8076dba67f4ec2f0027b859803b996cd413e4575c851aff239e} of admissions officers who view social media profiles said that it has a positive impact on the students’ applications.
Here are five ways to improve your social media presence:
1. Match your profiles to your applications
2. Show your interest in schools
3. Post about your passions
4. Share the highlights of your social life
5. Keep posting after you apply
1. Match your profiles to your functions
Your faculty utility, with well-written essays and killer letters of advice, ought to current you in the very best gentle. There’s no motive why your tweets shouldn’t too. And there are methods to do this past posting with excellent spelling and grammar.
For those who wrote a university essay about serving to your youthful siblings by powerful occasions, for instance, an admissions officer would possibly search for photos of them in your Fb profile. Equally, your on-line profiles could be good locations to submit images of your successes, akin to receiving educational awards or enjoying in your highschool’s sports activities groups.
It is perhaps sensible to look again at your previous images on these platforms too. You may discover one or two that will make an admissions officer query whether or not you’re the identical applicant who nailed their paper utility.
Bonus tip: Do not forget that your profile photos are in all probability the primary issues that schools will search for on social media. If yours is skilled however acceptable in your age, you would make a powerful first impression.
2. Present your curiosity in colleges
Liking and following the social media profiles of your most well-liked colleges is a brilliant transfer. Take it a step additional by discovering acceptable methods to interact with the faculties on these platforms. You would possibly touch upon a faculty’s submit, or tag the varsity throughout your faculty go to.
Be cautious of going all out in your “attain” college on social media when you’re nonetheless being thought of by others. The admissions officer of your “goal” college may very well be postpone. You additionally wouldn’t wish to poke enjoyable at your “security” college.
You can even reveal your curiosity in a specific main. For those who’re being thought of by a college’s faculty of enterprise, for instance, an admissions officer would possibly wish to know that you just observe high monetary consultants on-line.
3. Submit about your passions
Your faculty essay is one method to inform colleges about your deepest needs and strongest passions. However your social media profiles may also be a automobile to indicate off your curiosity in, nicely, no matter it’s that pursuits you. You is perhaps one of many following, to call a number of examples:
- Aspiring science main who tweets the most recent information from NASA
- Teen journalist who’s linking to their newest weblog submit
- Musician posting a video of their weekend live performance
Relishing your favourite pastime on-line offers colleges one other view into who you’re past your grades.
4. Share the highlights of your social life
Like unfavourable impressions, optimistic ones could be gleaned out of your Instagram account and Fb picture galleries. So don’t fear about having to cover them from college admissions departments.
On the flip aspect, be diligent about the way you would possibly seem in associates’ images, particularly on platforms that enable customers to tag individuals with out their consent. You wouldn’t need an admissions officer to discover a explicit picture and get the mistaken impression.
5. Preserve posting after you apply
For those who apply for school in January of your senior 12 months of highschool, it is perhaps a few months earlier than an admissions officer makes a remaining resolution. This could be the interval, between January and March, when your social media profiles is perhaps reviewed.
If it strengthens your case for admission, use this time to be your personal advocate on-line. Join the dots for an admissions officer who is perhaps on the fence. For those who targeted your utility essay on a senior mission, for instance, submit updates about its progress.
You may also use your profiles to doc your seek for faculty scholarships. Posting about functions and awards might present faculties that you just’re critical about discovering your method to campus.
For those who haven’t but utilized to colleges, contemplate together with a hyperlink to, say, your LinkedIn profile in your faculty utility. This manner, you may also level admissions departments towards the social media platform of your alternative.
Bonus tip: Remember that your college may also use a social-media-like cellular app known as ZeeMee that connects colleges with their potential college students. It may very well be yet one more method to share your story.
Tips on how to use social media to your profit
Whenever you learn that 10 potential Harvard college students have been instructed they have been not welcome within the class of 2021, your intestine response is perhaps to close down all of your social media accounts. Much less dramatically, you would possibly go for limiting public entry to the accounts.
Relying in your state of affairs, these is perhaps the wisest steps to take. However contemplate that you just’re accountable for your narrative.
For those who shut your accounts, you lose one method to state your case to get into a specific faculty.
So, as a substitute, contemplate turning your social media feeds right into a optimistic factor for admissions officers to have a look at. It would simply push you excessive and show you how to get accepted.
And when you plan to work whereas in class, contemplate cleansing up your Google search outcomes and social media pages to additionally impress potential employers.
