The odds are that you are involved in social networking in some way or another. There is no doubt that social networking is a revolution in communication and has a wide range of benefits. Yet, for students looking to get into college, social networking has some issues that you need to consider.
Some colleges and universities are using the information that you post on social networking pages to determine whether or not you should attend their schools. Now you might be tempted to think this is unfair. However, keep this fact in mind… if you post something in a public place, well, it’s public!
There is no way you can keep a university, college or prospective employer from looking at this information. In a perfect world, people might say, “Your facebook profile is personal, and we only care about your professional life.” But, in reality, this will not happen. This is why you have no choice but to stop and think carefully about all the public statements that you make in public forums and social networking sites.
College admissions counseling can be a demanding field. The admissions officers that you are working with might see like robots to you, but you need to remember that often they are worried about losing their jobs if they make a mistake. If they admit a student who turns out to make the school look bad or cause problems, it does reflect upon them. As a result, they have to be cautious.
Admissions officers may look at your “online life” as part of the process of determining who you are and what you are like. This is information that was not available just a few years ago, but today it’s easy to find. Thanks to search engines like Google, almost anyone can find such information quickly and easily.
If you know that you already have embarrassing information online, realize that you are definitely not alone. It is important to do want you can to remove any information that may reflect badly on you. For example, if you have a blog dedicated to how much you dislike education in all forms, you should probably get rid of that! You get the idea.
In general, start paying closer attention to what you post online, and have a good explanation for anything silly you posted online, as you never know when you might need to explain yourself. Finally, be proactive and work to post positive accomplishments online. Consider starting a blog designed to promote a charity that needs your help, for example.
Just because there may be some embarrassing things about you online doesn’t mean that your dreams of getting into a great college or university are “finished.” By investing some time in working to fix your mistakes, you can smooth over much of what you did in the past. For most people, this process will really only take a few hours, but the results can be very positive in the long run.
You’ve likely spent a lot of time doing SAT practice tests online, looking into financial aid for college tuition and maybe even college admissions counseling. Considering all the time you are investing, why not spend a little time thinking about your online presence?
