Do Colleges Look at your Social Media?
Elton Lin
Social media is integrated into nearly every high school student’s everyday life, and the notion of a college admission’s board taking a peek at your social media can be a bit intimidating. After all, there's so much about you on your social media that colleges won't find on your polished college application.
We've all heard horror stories about colleges rescinding acceptance offers after finding concerning content on a student's Facebook, like, in 2017 when Harvard rescinded offers for a few prospective students after discovering they had been trading disturbingly inappropriate memes through a private Facebook group and group chat. This year, Northeastern threatened to rescind offers of admission to freshmen who indicated on social media that they intend to party and violate social distancing protocols on campus. But is a student's social media always a landmine to disable before colleges catch you red-handed? On the other hand, can your social media actually help both colleges and applicants? Do colleges even look at your social media at all?
The unclear answer: some colleges do, some don’t. Some college admissions officers think of social media as a valuable source of applicant information, while others deem checking it an invasion of privacy. A 2019 Kaplan Test Prep survey discovered that 36% of college admissions officers look at applicants' social media, an increased percentage from their 2018 survey's 25%. Of the college admissions officers who check, 19% even claimed to check "often". This rise is likely attributed to the greater spread of public and content-based social media ,such as TikTok or streaming platforms like Twitch, as opposed to private accounts or internal messaging. A larger 59% of admissions officers consider checking social media “fair game” in the admissions process, even if they don’t actively do so themselves.
However, there are many colleges, including the University of Richmond, that don’t go out of their way to look for applicants’ social media accounts. Many claim to check only if the student actively links their profiles in their application. Others may check if some anonymous third-party finds concerning conduct on an applicant’s social media and brings it to the college’s attention. Some admissions officers add that they might search for applicants’ social media if they’re being considered for things like special programs, scholarships, or financial aid, but that they don’t check otherwise. It’s also worth noting that even college admissions officers who check applicants’ social media “often” don’t prioritize it over the information that’s actually on the application, like GPA and essays.
Still, why do colleges look at social media? And how can this be to the applicant’s benefit? With the sheer amount of information that can be found on social media, it’s understandable that many admissions officers go to the internet to learn more about applicants. Here are a few things they might be looking for:
The character of the applicant. On an actual college application, there isn’t much room for an applicant’s personal voice outside of any submitted essays. While extracurriculars do often indicate much about an applicant’s character (e.g. leadership roles could reflect a high level of responsibility, volunteering could reflect care for the community), social media can reflect an applicant’s character as well. Do you seem to hold your social connections with respect? Do you seem to genuinely care about your Quiz Bowl team, your mentors and peers, your self-betterment? Do your posts portray you as an optimistic, idealistic person or a more skeptical, analytical one? Social media can really give admissions officers insight into an applicant’s complex personality and character that might otherwise be difficult to discern.
An extracurricular showcase or application supplement. This could be reinforcement of extracurriculars already stated on the application. For example, if you mention your involvement in a varsity sports team or a cultural organization, admissions officers might expect to see promotional posts of club events or team photos on your social media. Additionally, social media accounts can sometimes even serve as a supplement or a digital portfolio, especially if the applicant is an artist or creator of some kind. Applicants may have an Instagram art account, a photography Twitter account, or a YouTube music channel, for example, and should link these in their applications to showcase their extracurriculars to admissions boards.
Demonstrated interest. We’ve written previously about demonstrating interest to colleges in the age of COVID-19, as well as how important demonstrated interest can be to colleges, and social media is another straightforward way colleges can check for this. Some college admissions boards will take note if applicants have liked their college’s Facebook page, engaged with some of their posts, or maybe even contacted a college representative through official social media accounts.
So how can you make sure your social media is ready for potential scrutiny from colleges? The aforementioned Kaplan Test Prep survey found that, of the admissions officers who reported checking applicants’ social media accounts, 38% said their searches have a largely positive effect on their view of prospective students, while 32% said that their searches have a more negative impact. Here are some tips to make sure admissions officers leave your social media feeling more positively about you as an applicant:
Check your lists. Social media often shares information about your online activity in formats that are easy for anybody to read, from tweets you’ve liked and people or pages you follow to interests you’ve shared. You’ll want to make sure there isn’t any accumulation of inappropriate content. On a more positive note, you should also check if the interests you want made clear to colleges are accurately reflected in your social media lists.
Make accounts private. If there are some social media accounts you perhaps find embarrassing or unrepresentative of the side of you that you’re showing to college admissions boards, making certain accounts private isn’t a bad move. You can also change your username or display name such that your accounts aren’t linked to your real name.
Demonstrate interest. Again, this could be as simple as following a college’s social media account or having proof of online engagement. Maybe it’s just your Facebook post stating that you’re excited to have finished your application for such-and-such college and can’t wait for the results — for some colleges, these small things are welcome social media finds.
Showcase extracurriculars, skills, and interests. Social media is a fantastic place to showcase your artistic endeavors and various hobbies. It serves as an interactive digital portfolio that can often make what you’re trying to demonstrate to college admissions feel more alive than a simple list or PDF file in a college application.
Be positive and keep it clean. By this, we don’t mean you can’t ever curse, make a sarcastic joke, or share your solemn thoughts on current events or a personal struggle on social media. Rather, check what the overall atmosphere of your social media accounts tends to be. Do people seem to enjoy interacting with you on social media? Do you seem like your character and actions would be valuable, positive additions to the college’s community? It’s worth reviewing your social media to judge the answers to these questions.
While some college admissions boards may not actively check applicants’ social media, the possibility remains that some will throughout the admissions process. Just like any content you put on your actual college application, information that admissions officers get from your social media can both hurt or help your chances—it all depends on what you put out there.