College Admission: MySpace (continued)
Topics: College Information Resources, Teen Years (13-19), Twelfth Grade, more...
Since students can be suspended and expelled from school and college because of these sites, parents should be aware of these types of restrictions. Many middle and high schools search for their students to make sure that they’re not online.
Most colleges will not “MySpace” or “Facebook” applicants—but they could, along with scholarship committees and potential employers. However, since these online profiles are public knowledge, when other people bring student blogs to their attention, schools have to react.
According to the March 8, 2006 USA Today article, “What You Say Online Could Haunt You,” at least one student was denied was denied admission to college because of comments about school officials on his online blog.
Some college admission officers have accounts on these Web sites as a convenient forum for students to contact them with questions. Although this interaction can be effective, the impact on admission varies. Many admission officers caution students to that these “conversations” can be considered formal correspondence and part of the admission decision. Others do not factor in the personal information the student profiles share.
What you can do: Remind students that colleges COULD access the information they post. Many students feel that it is unfair for adults to read their profiles and blogs, that their online social life is not relevant to their schoolwork. Try to sympathize with them, but let them know that, fair or not, adults are reading their information.
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Reprinted with the permission of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. © 2008 National Association for College Admission Counseling.
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