Do Colleges Look At Facebook? – Avoid the WRONG impression!

Posted by Eric Thomas on October 25, 2010 · Leave a Comment

During the college application process, it isn’t uncommon for a student to ask the question: “Do Colleges Look At Facebook?”. Contrary to what some might say, social media sites such as Facebook and Myspace are now being used as an avenue to gain a deeper insight about a person. And, colleges are no different!

In our previous article we talked about how college essays can make or break your admission. Now, let’s shift gears to something that can only BREAK your admission status: inappropriate Facebook material!

Before we begin, get yourself signed up for our FREE eCourse: How To Look IRRESISTIBLE To Colleges. Plus, we’re going to give you a free copy of our “10 Reasons You Won’t Get Into College” just for joining! Ok, let’s begin…

First off and lucky for you, it’s not as bad as it seems. Not every college or university admission rep hops on Facebook and looks up the student that their reviewing. Just some food for thought: Many top colleges get over 25,000 applications every fall…$25,000! Do you think they have the time to research every applicant’s Facebook page? Not likely, however it does happen so you really need to make sure you safeguard yourself from any unwanted or misunderstood pictures and/or comments getting in the hands of your potential college.

A really quick answer to that question “do colleges look at facebook” is, yes! However, there is no need to go over to your Facebook account and completely delete it just yet! Let’s talk about a few things first, and determine if you need to “clean things up a bit”…or just get rid of some content altogether.

What Are You Hiding?
This is the first question to ask yourself. Is there something on your Facebook that you wouldn’t let a college admission representative look at? How about your parents? Are there pictures or other comments on your Facebook page (or someone else’s) that you wouldn’t let your parents see? If you answered yes, or even had to think twice about any of those questions, then you should fix that content NOW!…as in IMMEDIATELY!

Now, you may think this is “snooping” or a violation of your privacy, but everything you do on the internet is fair game. Think of it this way: if you owned a business and happened to stumble upon an applicant’s Facebook page that had a bunch of pictures of underaged drinking going on, would you hire that employee to work for you? Of course not. You’ve worked too hard to establish your business to have it associated with anything that could damage your reputation.

The same goes for the colleges. There’s such a thing as Kiplinger’s Top Colleges and US News and World Report’s College Rankings that basically rates colleges in different categories. Long story, short: Colleges have what is called a freshman dropout rate and if it climbs to a certain level, they run the risk of adopting a “bad name” and will not get published on any “Best Colleges” list. That means less tuition dollars for that school…bottom line.

What Can You Do?

DELETE!
The first thing you need to do is remove any photos of you that can be misinterpreted by someone that doesn’t know you, or…a college rep. If you have anything that MIGHT be questionable, get rid of it. It’s much better to be safe, than sorry for getting a denial letter!
Make Things Private!
If you simply cannot part with any “questionable” pics, Facebook has something called “Privacy Settings”. Go in there and make any photos or parts of your profile private to avoid any snooping by unwanted eyes. We recommend deleting them entirely, but what you do with your Facebook is your business. Just remember that anything you put on the internet is pretty much permanent and could come back to haunt you.Also, make your profile private from anyone that isn’t “friends” with you. This will make it very difficult for an outsider to view what’s going on your Facebook page.
Tell Your Friends!
Chances are, you have friends that are also applying to college. Let them know that you are cleaning up your Facebook page and ask them not to comment with any off-color statements. Most friends will be courteous and respect you. Others will continue to comment inappropriately. You should either delete them, or make it so they cannot post anything on your page.

The bottom line here is that you should always protect yourself from damaging your image. Social media is very popular, and it can be used in a negative manner, even though you may think it’s just harmless fun. Given the opportunity, colleges will use a site like Facebook to get an in-depth look at a potential student, so don’t give them that opportunity! Protect yourself. And when your friends ask the question, “Do colleges Look At Facebook?”, you can tell them YES!

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