The Effect of Social Media on the Admissions Process

Over the past few weeks, universities around the country have sent decision letters to millions of anxious, nervous, and excited high school seniors. Traditionally, decisions have been based on transcripts, extracurricular activities, college essays, and teacher recommendations. Colleges look at the profile of a student holistically, considering whether they would be a good fit for their institution not just in academia, but in personality and interests. In recent years, however, a new element has come into play: an applicant’s online reputation. Admissions officers are factoring who a student is online into their assessment of them. Data shows that about 36% of admissions officers Googled or Facebooked applicants in 2012­-2013, and nearly 70% of admissions officers reached candidates online in 2013-­2014 (Kaplan, Cappex). The issue of an applicant’s online reputation is a legitimate one.

Some responses to this issue have been for high schoolers to simply change their names on Facebook, or deactivate their accounts entirely, so that colleges can’t find them. It’s increasingly clear, though, that this is not enough. In fact, it might even be a bad thing. As the Internet occupies an increasing portion of our lives, colleges want to see how you are using the Internet to communicate and reinforce the image of who you are. Thus, neutral or non­existent content is essentially negative. Because of this, it is imperative that students learn to use the Internet in positive and proactive ways.

And so arises the question: how do you do this? How can you positively shape the online representation of yourself in a way that is both genuine and effective? This question lies at the heart of online reputation management for students. To help answer this question, let’s take a few suggestions from Cornerstone Reputation.

Here are a few specific yet simple strategies that students use to promote their online presence in a positive way. You will notice that the overall goal is about improving the quality of your online presence by boosting the portion of positive content online.

● Keep your social media accounts up to date with posts about the elements of your life that you want colleges to learn about. If you win an award at school, post about it; if you take a trip somewhere, post about it; if you write an article in the school newspaper, post about it. These elements of your future applications are more likely to be searched for online, and you can ensure that they show up. The overall message is this: if you have a positive experience that provides a window into who you are and the types of things that are important to you, let your followers on social media know about it.

● Focus your extracurriculars to those that you are truly passionate about and post frequently about these activities. Colleges don’t just want to see involvement, they want to see commitment. Find the things you really love to do and drive content online about these things. For example, if you’re on the soccer team, tweet about the results of a game, post a picture to Instagram of the team warming up, whatever will showcase online your commitment to this activity.

● Be careful about content online that you can’t control. Often, friends may post something online that could be viewed as negative by colleges. Although you didn’t personally post this content, it can still color the perception a college has of you. You are already accustomed to thinking about the possibility of a parent or sibling stumbling upon content about you. You should also be thinking about the possibility of a college admissions officer finding it, too. If you see a post from a friend that could possibly put you in a negative light, ask your friend to take it down.

● Find blogs on issues that you are passionate about and ask to write a guest blog post. Not only will this show you taking initiative and real interest in your passions, but it will increase your searchability, as colleges will be able to find more positive content produced by you when they search your name.

● If you participate in a program or volunteer service, or anything similar, ask them for mentions. If you have worked with a charity or a volunteer program, reach out to them and ask them to mention you in their next newsletter or update. Or, even better, ask to write an article about your experience with them that you can feature on their site. Then you can tweet or post about it with a link to the original content. This increases searchability and shows positive and proactive involvement online.

Hopefully these suggestions spark a few ideas for how you can begin promoting yourself more positively online. The key thing to remember about online reputation management is that there is not just one answer. Different techniques lend themselves to different individuals, based upon interest, setting, and online platform. At Cornerstone, we understand this and take into account a variety of factors––including interests, learning style, how you describe yourself, goals, personality, etc.––to help craft a personalized strategy that will work best for you. As you move forward in your activity on the Internet, keep these strategies in mind, and think about the type of image you want to create for yourself online.

Nick Safian is a student at Princeton University and a Reputation Mentor for Cornerstone Reputation.

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