Distinctive

By Victoria Tillson Evans, Ph.D.

I have seen it all – alcohol, curse words, even boobs. This is just a sampling of what has turned up on spur-of-the-moment requests to see my students’ social media accounts. Granted, many of you now have finsta accounts rather than just one Instagram profile, and you’re certainly more savvy than your peers were five years ago. But that doesn’t change the fact that colleges will still check you out online and occasionally turn up unsavory behavior.

Maintaining a clean online presence is essential as an applicant, either to college or for a job. According to a 2020 report, 40 percent of admissions officers view students’ social media accounts as fair game. After all, the colleges themselves maintain several online accounts and expect you to follow or like them. In a couple of notable cases, a review of poor social media behavior has led to the revocation of offers of admission, including to Harvard in 2017 and 2019. You need to avoid such situations.

To make sure that you don’t fall foul of the behavioral norms expected of a civilized young adult, here are some basic guidelines.

First, at all times, keep your posts rated G. Refrain from the use of expletives and do not post pictures that you wouldn’t share with your grandmother or 7-year-old cousin.

Second, start curating your posts! If you think thoughtfully about what you’d like the world to see about you, you could pique an admissions officer’s interest with impressive, creative, or even funny material. Just remember to be yourself. If you’re not normally an artistic-type, trying to come across as someone who is will inevitably backfire.

Second, make sure that your friends do not post images of you or mention you in compromising situations. Just because you didn’t post it, it doesn’t mean that colleges should disregard it!

Third, check your timelines. Just because you’ve stopped posting embarrassing material doesn’t mean that colleges won’t see what you posted in the past. If you find anything that could be construed as inappropriate, even if it was from middle school, delete it!

Fourth, set your privacy settings to the max.

Fifth, if you don’t typically use social media, do create at least one account with Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, or whatever appeals. Part of demonstrating interest is following colleges online. You don’t have to post. You just need to follow.

Sixth, you don’t need to create a website or LinkedIn account, just because you heard that your friends are doing it. You can if such media will help you showcase your professional strengths and interests, or otherwise demonstrate your achievements in a way that an essay or résumé cannot (i.e. you have a YouTube channel with 100,000 followers and you want colleges to see that for themselves). Otherwise, why create unnecessary work for yourself?

Seventh, before interviews, feel free to check out interviewers’ LinkedIn profiles. Several of my students do this to learn about the people they’re meeting to find common ground in advance. It can help with conversations and establishing a rapport. Do, however, stay off of their other social media accounts. LinkedIn is professional and intended for such situations. The others are personal and thus not.

Eighth, do not rant or rail against a college online, even if you were deferred, waitlisted, or denied. I know that all of those situations hurt, but you have to limit the expression of your true feelings to offline conversations, where the evidence isn’t permanent. You never know if you will want to apply again as a transfer or graduate student in the future.

Ninth, answer emails appropriately and promptly. One of the first questions I ask students when we start working together is, “Do you read your email?” About half tell me no. Unfortunately for those students, email is how the adult world communicates and they’re putting themselves at a distinct disadvantage in the admissions process by not checking their inbox. To avoid falling into this category, open your email every day, reply to all emails within 24 hours, and use appropriate opening and closing salutations, i.e. “Dear” or “Best Regards” (“Hey” or no salutation is considered rude). You want college admissions officers to like you, not the opposite!

While most of these points are common sense, you have to recognize that online interactions are not all bad in admissions. You can actually use them to your advantage. Just understand the boundaries and seek out the possibilities, and you’ll be just fine!