Could your college of choice be scouting you on Facebook? The Kaplan Test Prep center says yes, as four out of every five college admissions offices use the social network to recruit new students.
The company’s senior communication manager Russell Schaffer said in an email, “We found that 82 percent of admissions officers reported that their school is using Facebook to recruit students.”
Perhaps these recent statistics show colleges are putting a heavier emphasis on social media presence and clout rather than simply digging for dirt on the social sites.
In a Quora thread this week, Allison Oster, an interviewer for Harvard College said:
I do occasionally Google students I’m interviewing. So that will turn up FB profiles or anything else that is public. As far as I know, we are not given specific instructions to exclude it.
I think it’s always better to be safe than sorry – when you apply to college you spend such a long time crafting an image through your applications and essays that to be careless about your online data is just silly.
Does a FB profile or a website prejudice me before I meet a candidate?
Yes. Absolutely.
Clearly, it’s important to keep an eye on your social media presence, but it’s reassuring to know that college recruiters aren’t just looking for dirt, but rather, talent.
It’s important to carefully keep an eye on who sees your personal Facebook page. Aside from security implementations, it’s essential for students to craft their own public social media presence to align with the picture they’ve painted of themselves within their college applications.
The recently released statistics illustrate that a strong social media presence could actually help your chances of getting into college.
(Via All Facebook)
