Caution with Facebook
Hey guys,
I just ran across an article online talking about how colleges are beginning to use Facebook as a resource for assessing their prospective students. I thought it was very interesting considering the number of students that use Facebook every day (Facebook gets over 30 billion hits a month!). Facebook is a great Web site to keep in touch with friends, meet new people, and contact old friends. The problem with Facebook is that it is very easy to forget that information and pictures you post on your profile become public and can be seen by anyone, including admissions counselors and potential employers.
A recent survey administered by the Wall Street Journal questioned 320 selective schools about criteria they use when admitting students. Over 10% of them said they used social networking sites such as Facebook as a tool to assess potential students. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Students can use this to their advantage. Pictures of students engaging in different extra-curricular activities (pictures at a school football game for example) will reinforce the notion of a well balanced student. However, pictures of students partying, under age drinking, or other suggestive pictures can have a pretty serious impact on your admissions counselor. The last thing you want when applying to schools is for the admissions counselor to get a bad impression of you because of Facebook.
I know of a student who got her dream job with the Boston Celtics when she graduated. A few weeks later her job offer was revoked because of provocative and inappropriate pictures on her Facebook site, needless to say she was pretty devastated. Be smart and use caution when uploading pictures onto the internet. Remember, once it is online you no longer have control.
Do you Facebook? Ever thought it could impact your decision to go to college?
Play it safe,
Tom
Seriously? If a college has nothing better to do than look for me on Facebook it might say something about that school. What about freedom of speech and expression?
Having said that, I get the point and wouldn't put stuff on my page that would offend anybody cause I try not to do anything to offend anybody. It has to do with my character, not my chance for admission!
Reply to this
I don't think that it is a problem that colleges look at students' Facebook pages. Remember that colleges are trying to create safe learning environments for all of their students. They are looking at students' Facebook pages as another tool to learn more about who they are. If a student's pages are covered with pictures of friends and family and activies in which he or she has participated, that will be a great support to that student's application. However, if a student covers his pages with pictures of questionable or illegal activities, then you can be assured that the college is not going to be impressed. Think of your Facebook pages as another essay...it is a window into who you are and what you will bring to the college. They are really interested in knowing more about you. Just be sure that what they are learning from your Facebook pages is what you want them to know.
Reply to this