<p>Does anybody know if Princeton checks Facebook?</p>
<p>I have not heard specifically that they do but it seems reasonable to assume they might, given that many employers now use it as a reference tool in hiring. </p>
<p>@jhenry11 I can say with certainty that they do google applicants to make sure they’re not lying about what’s on their application. If you claim to have done something big (won a huge science fair, started a nonprofit), there should be articles about you or else it may look suspicious.</p>
<p>My friend’s dad is a Princeton interviewer. I’m pretty sure he was told to look up people, and if not, he does it himself. He has his daughter help him learn to use instagram and twitter to try to better research his interviewees.</p>
<p>Do you really think they have time for that, with ~30k applicants?</p>
<p>@pton18tiger Well I know MIT does it for sure. And if MIT does it, Princeton probably does it as well. This is an excerpt from a blog post on the MIT admissions blog written by an admissions officer.</p>
<p>“As I open each case, I also open what we call the “eFolder,” which is a PDF of everything in your case (your application, letters of recommendation, transcript, supplemental materials, and so on) in a separate window on the external display. I’ll then read the eFolder, taking notes as I go, and opening endless new tabs to research something unfamiliar if and as I encounter it in the case (a town I’ve never seen an applicant from, an extracurricular or award I’ve never heard of, etc).”</p>
<p><a href=“This Is How I Read | MIT Admissions”>http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/this-is-how-i-read</a> </p>
<p>Also, it’s not that time-consuming to google someone. 1-2 minutes at most. </p>
<p>actually MIT doesn’t
The MIT admissions office does not engage in this practice because it’s essentially an invasion of privacy - sites like Facebook are designed to be a community, a playground, etc for students - not designed to be a spying tool for Big Brother. To use them as the latter is, in my opinion, not terribly ethical. Admissions officers should get involved in these communities if they want to help applicants with the process, with the match - not if they’re out to use what they find there to hurt them.</p>
<p>DS simply changed his FB name. Easy.</p>
<p>they use email</p>
<p>You can change your primary email in your Facebook settings, so no one can search for you.</p>
<p>I use a different email from the one on my college apps for social media so life’s good</p>
<p>@jhenry11 Sorry for not being clearer, I don’t know if MIT looks at facebook, but I know that they DO google applicants. I thought that @pton18tiger’s comment was directed at me, which is why I attached the excerpt of the admissions officer blog post about googling unusual applicants. </p>
<p>You guys are looking at it the wrong way. They pare down 30K applicants to about twice as many as they need, probably 3000. Then they do things like google someone or look for their facebook page.</p>
<p>There is no way they would bother the “second level” of scrutiny if they weren’t strongly considering making an offer to someone.</p>
<p>So - think about it. You meet all the academic and EC criteria. You hit your essay out of the park. Your ECs are great. They will check on your ECs online, if any are big. They will google you for anything out of sorts (arrests? posts using your real name?). And check facebook.</p>
<p>Have a very very common name, and it will be difficult to pin anything down on you ;)</p>
<p>Thanks rhandco! That makes a lot more sense lol</p>
<p>I emailed them. They don’t check anything not on the application</p>
<p>i emailed them. They do not check anything not on the application</p>
<p>I work under the assumption that anything I post online can be seen by anyone. I don’t really use Facebook but there’s nothing incriminating on mine anyway. I use my Instagram and Twitter more and they are on public but I think carefully before posting anything that would make me look bad to an observer, especially a potential employer or college. If you’re worried about the consequences of a college checking you out online, you should probably be more careful about how you represent yourself.</p>
<p>I’m actually worried that if adcoms google me they might mistake me for someone else who’s eerily similar to me… she speaks the same 3 languages, has the same art related hobbies, plays the same instrument, has the same name. Only problem is that she… represents herself in a way I don’t want to be seen, to put it politely. She doesn’t give location or age either, so you have to search a bit and pull up her fb page to realize she lives somewhere else…</p>
<p>I mean I know adcoms are all smart and cautious people, but I’m still afraid someone might make the assumption and not look long enough to realize it’s not me 
</p>
<p>Amusing anecdote from my Princeton interview:</p>
<p>My interviewer was in his late 70’s, so I wasn’t expecting him to be too involved with technology. However, one of the first things he said to me was “I saw on your Facebook that you visited a lot of colleges… how come you didn’t visit Princeton?” (I went on 7 fly ins so my social media was full of pretty campus pictures.) I was taken aback, but I answered the question by saying that traveling to visit colleges that did not offer me financial travel assistance was out of the question currently. He understood, but still it was quite mortifying to be called out like that (and certainly taught me to not make assumptions about interviewers!) Luckily, I was still admitted, but I have a good story to tell about my interview. </p>
<p>Even though this happened some years back, I think it shows how far Princeton will go (at least in the fairly recent past):
<a href=“Princeton Admits to Accessing Yale Admissions Information | News | The Harvard Crimson”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/8/2/princeton-admits-to-accessing-yale-admissions/</a></p>
<p>So do they check Facebook?
If you are close to being considered for admission, I’ll wager they google you, check Facebook, etc for any clues about your character or your future plans regardless of what any official says.</p>