College Applicants on Social Networking Sites Beware, They “Know What You Did Last Summer.”
May 21, 2009
Students should proceed with caution on social networking sites.
High-school students have enough on their minds with regard to course selection, GPA and exam scores, to name a few. Now another concern adds a challenging dimension to the college application process. Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites can potentially derail a student’s aspirations about getting into the college of their choice.
A recent survey found that approximately 10% of admissions officers routinely review the social-networking pages of their student applicants. More than a third of those that used the online information indicated that what they saw “negatively affected” their views of the applicant – a significantly higher percentage than those that indicated their views were improved, according to the survey by education company Kaplan, a unit of Washington Post Co. With the explosion of social networking sites, it is reasonable to assume that more and more admissions officers will add their review to the entrance checklist. Read more
