<p>My daughter is trying to get admission into several elite colleges. She attends an elite prep school on financial aid. However, she is a conservative in her views. Despite her excellent track record, her guidance counselor has told her to tone down her rhetoric in essays which she has submitted. He was afraid she may not be admitted if college found out that she is a conservative. She did it and she was admitted to her EA choice. But to compare financial aid she is waiting from other schools. Anyway her guidance counselor called her and told her to take down her conservative views expressed on face book. He told her that few college counselors have somehow viewed her records. Guidance counselor explained to the college admission officers that she may be conservative but a good kid and will not be a problem to leftists views. However, GC was blunt with my daughter that this kind of behavior can put her admission on risk. She has immediately taken it down. </p>
<p>Bottom line advice your kids to make sure they do not put anything personal, on the website similar to face book, which other people may use against them. This can create a lot more problem then people can imagine. This personal information on the face book could be a serious problem. Since you people have helped us I think this is very important not to reveal the personal information on the website which other people may use against them. </p>
<p>This thread is posted not for left or right theories but to warn parents that they should know that somebody may have access to the records on these kinds of sites. So be careful what kids reveal on the website. It can be a problem.</p>
<p>i always laugh at the things people put on there anyway. i have my name set up, a few movies, and a few bands. basically the only reason for even joining is to have a list of my friends where i can look up their emails if needed.</p>
<p>Never thought about admissions looking at MySpace, where kids do post amazingly personal pictures and comments. Colleges wll need an extra person to check the web sites of each applicant!</p>
<p>My kids prep school also warned all students not to reveal any personal information on similar web pages because they are afraid that thieves could steal identity for financial gains. They also warned that colleges or other scholarships awarding organization may be snooping to find out whom they are admitting.</p>
<p>Frankly, if a college didn't want me because of my conservative (or any other) views, I don't think I would want to be there. I agree that putting personal information out on the web can be dangerous, and I know of several large teen parties that were discovered by schools as a result of pictures on myspace, livejournal etc., but political or social commentary is perfectly acceptable.
My son wrote a risky essay for Chicago (EA) that would not be a view shared by the school administration, and was accepted.</p>
<p>I would think admissions officers would actually appreciate conservative views if for no other reason than for diversity. Can't imagine that would contribute to a rejection from any school.</p>
<p>And as to the other types of postings I can't imagine that admissions officers who work with college- age kids all the time can't see past what many of these posts are: braggadocio.</p>
<p>Putting your political views on facebook is fine. Your daughter should not be hiding her political views. A college should not be using that against her. But, putting interests as partying or pictures of kids drinking...not a good idea.</p>
<p>It might have only been the GC who was checking up to make sure there was nothing incriminating! I agree it would never be conservative views (or liberal) , but possibly how they are expressed that would be a potential problem, ie any hints that the student would be trouble or over the top on campus could put up a red flag. </p>
<p>Still, I do not doubt that some admissions officers do look at these sites - maybe more often than we think. It's a click of a button away and many AOs are young and computer savvy themselves.</p>
<p>Does anyone have evidence of adcoms altering their viewpoint of an applicant because of what is on facebook or myspace. </p>
<p>I'm not concerned about how adcoms would use the information, but those who review scholarship, internship, employment or summer program applications probably would take into account what information is revealed on facebook and myspace.</p>
<p>Also, don't ever expect to run for political office or be appointed to a civic, government or other public service position if you place questionable information on these types of sites.</p>
<p>Tell you daughter to hide her conservative views if she wants to be admitted to good colleges. Most of the Ivy faculty has a very left oriented bias as you have seen from summers problem in Harvard. Despite what people on CC claims, the faculty may punish the kid for political views. Kid sees left views bias in prep school faculty all the time. However, there are only few who are extreme in views and will try to put you down. Majority will let you know that they may not agree with you but still will not punish you in any way. Left wing dominates the colleges so be careful.</p>
<p>Tell her Summer is paying the price at Harvrad, and he was a clinton apoointee. So be careful.</p>
<p>gsp_silicon, tell me: if people knowing you like to drink/smoke/whatever when you're in college prevents you from running for office, then explain to me how Bush got elected twice - after all, his heavy drinking/cocaine use aren't exactly hard to find facts.</p>
<p>And as long as you set your profile to "friends only" and make yourself invisible in searches BEFORE any potential employers would look at your profile, you're fine - they won't even know you have a profile then.</p>
<p>"Jeez, it's called common sense! Please, I have no sympathy for people who do such things without thinking of the possible consequences!"</p>
<p>I agree. I know someone who lost their job because of posting on a site that they hate their job. The person's employers saw the posting and "laid off" the employee, who has no idea the real reason for the layoff. (The posting was the last straw as the employee was at best mediocre).</p>
<p>I also know several parents who learned through their kids' blogs about drugs, sex and other things their offspring were doing. The parents had stumbled upon (i.e. were not searching the Internet looking for) the blogs, which their kids were posting under assumed names.</p>
<p>No one should put anything on a blog, web page or in an e-mail that they wouldn't want their worst enemy to see. That includes things posted on CC.</p>
<p>"
And as long as you set your profile to "friends only" and make yourself invisible in searches BEFORE any potential employers would look at your profile, you're fine - they won't even know you have a profile then."</p>
<p>Toning down rhetoric and hiding your conservatism are completely different IMHO. The first is wise; the second is unnecessary.</p>
<p>In other words, colleges are eager to admit the next Bob Dole. They don't want the next Ann Coulter. As long as you come across as reasonable and respectful, I really think you don't have to worry.</p>
<p>"rrrrrriiiiiiigggghhhhhhhtttt were all being alittle paranoid now arent we?"</p>
<p>There's reason to be paranoid, and there's always reason to not put anything down in print -- a letter, e-mail, a website -- that one wouldn't want the world to see. It's foolish to think that anything is really private.</p>
<p>For instance, a disgruntled summer roommate of a student who was attending the college where my husband was teaching sent copies of her e-mail correspondance with my husband's student. The two students were in an out of state internship, and even though the student who sent my husband the e-mail didn't attend the college where he taught, she happened to have met him through a workshop.</p>
<p>She ended up having an internship where a student at my husband's university was interning, and the two became roommates and quickly grew to hate each other. Out of some kind of stupid revenge idea, the roommate mailed my husband their e-mail correspondance, which included lots of vile name calling, cursing and allegations of sexual misconduct.</p>
<p>The e-mail, incidentally, was done using their company e-mail addresses. Since no company e-mail is truly private, I'm sure that their supervisors also saw it.</p>
<p>Bottom line: It's very smart to be paranoid and cautious when it comes to e-mail, posting on web sites, etc. Even if one is posting under an assumed name, you may be identified by the people whom you'd like least to read the information.</p>
<p>Reasonably phrased conservative views will not be punished.However, discussions meant to be private might prove an embarassment. Anne Coulter is purposely inflammatory whereas Bob Dole would never openly discuss matters better left private, unless you consider erectile disfunction a dinner table topic ,...</p>