Can colleges access the internet during the application review usually (I want to include a website)

I’m in the process of creating a website which showcases a lot of my passions which I hope to bring to Campus. However, I’ve heard previously that certain colleges don’t use the internet during their application review process.

Does anyone know if they are able to click on websites (just a URL listed in the additional info of the common app)? If you have ever done something similar for your apps, can you let me know how it went (if at all they mentioned it)?

Thank you!

(p.s. I understand there are portfolios available for most colleges, but some of the stuff I want to showcase will not be easily included through that platform).

Not sure admissions officers want to dig around on your website. They have hundreds if not thousands of apps to review, and they ask for the formats they want for the application and supplements. You might stand out, but not in the way you intend to.

You should spend the time perfecting your attributes within the app itself. No one is gonna click your URL

If you already had a blog and wanted to mention it and provide a link, that would be fine. My friend did that because she has 100k + followers. If its just a website where you brag to adcoms about your accomplishments then no thank u

You’re creating a website specifically to showcase things for college admissions? That’s definitely a waste of time and effort.

I’ve seen url’s to blogs or columns mentioned in a resume, but not creating one just for an application (unless its a specific submission for a specific scholarship).

I really agree with @T26E4 on the first part, but disagree on the second part.

Psywar jr. had a URL regarding his club / EC in the additional information section of the common app. This EC was a focal point of his Princeton app, helping to create a compelling narrative for one of his essays.

After reading this thread, I downloaded the IP addresses of all visitors, crossed referenced them with the IP addresses registered with Princeton (https://www.net.princeton.edu/ip-network-ranges.html) and found a single hit in December. While they only visited once, they hit 32 pages (mostly pictures).

So they do visit sites, at least they did for this application. Kudos to Princton for doing their homework, I’m impressed they took the time to verify the details. In his case, I think it worked out in his favor as he was admitted SCEA.

-psy

@psywar Thank you so much, this is what I was looking for! I will definitely try to include everything via portfolios but to be honest, it’s not that difficult to create a website and it’s not that big of a deal for me. I will be able to include a few more things in it than just through the portfolios so if it helps in any way I’ll at least include it in the additional info.

To other responders, thank you anyway :). It’s less bragging rather than showing some stuff which is difficult to incorporate otherwise (eg. a cosmetic product I made and sold around the community). Wish everyone luck with their college apps.