I created and run my school’s Facebook confessions page, where students anonymously submit posts about the school through a form and I publish them on the page. The page now has hundreds of likes, but here’s the twist: there was actually ANOTHER confessions page that existed before mine did; however, after publishing a certain controversial post the school required the page to be taken down and the students running the page were suspended. The same day that the old page was taken down I created the new confessions page (that was essentially the same as the old one) that I am currently running and has hundreds of likes.
Would it present me in a positive or negative light to colleges if I mention my creation and running of the page in the Activities/Additional Information section, including the part about how the old page got taken down and the students were suspended? Can’t exactly ask my guidance counselor because nobody else in the school knows I run the page lol
I think it would depend on your school’s position on what you’re doing. If the students are posting negative confessions about each other, I certainly wouldn’t think that would be positive for you. My school had a few confessions Twitter accounts but they were basically gossip columns and were all taken down and I think the students were suspended.
Give up all hope of working for the NSA or the FBI following college. That aside, make the most of your being a free-speech advocate In some positive way.
Do you think that this would present me as someone advocating free speech and standing up to authority, or do you think colleges will see me as rebellious, ignorant, and disobeying standards the school has set?
Following up on post #1, as long as you aren’t suspended it isn’t a negative on your application. Depending on the college it may be a positive but it could also be just a neutral. The other thing I might wonder about is if this activity influences your guidance counselor to write a less stellar recommendation.
Personally, I don’t view this as a positive but that’s just my opinion. ECs should, generally, demonstrate a commitment to the activity (there might be a commitment but what’s the motivation?) or should demonstrate some leadership potential (cloaked in anonymity doesn’t demonstrate leadership). If you are willing to spin this in some way, give it a shot but are you willing to risk the college AO mentioning it to your guidance counselor? You’d be risking suspension by providing a confession on your college app.
Regarding your question " including the part about how the old page got taken down and the students were suspended?" I don’t see why it would be relevant to your application. I would not mention anything at all about the previous individuals. I don’t think you should include any of it on your college app but if you do, definitely don’t mention others. They don’t care about anyone other than the applicant and that would definitely send many red flags which may cause a call to the guidance counselor if they are on the fence.
In my opinion, I don’t know why you would consider including this activity. It doesn’t show anything particularly interesting or commendable about you. Anyone can run a Facebook page; collecting posts and publishing them anonymously does not exactly show any ability or achievement. Plus, the chances of a negative reaction far outweigh any possible positive reflection on you. As far as “standing up for free speech,” this is a pretty lame way to do that.
Maybe I’m showing my age here, but the ability to express any and every thought on the Internet is not a mark of intelligence or courage. Remember that the people reading your application are adults.
You all make great points. I really shouldn’t have included the option of putting it in my EC section since that’s already filled with more important activities. This would go in the “Additional Information” section.
Paveyourpath, blprof, and doschicos you all make good points. Mentioning that I run the page anonymously because other students got suspended would probably show that I don’t own up to my actions and definitely doesn’t show leadership. You’re also right about the risk of them calling my guidance counselor if I mention the suspension.
It seems that now I am definitely not going to include the suspension part and am only deciding between the creation and growth of the page. If I’m hoping to go for the “entrepreneur” image, would it be worth including it in the additional information section?
No way. This is in no way entrepreneurial. Try to spin this as entrepreneurial and your back to where you started with having questions asked that you will not be able to answer and a follow up call from the school asking for clarification from your guidance counselor. If you have to do any interviews for schools you are applying to, I wouldn’t mention it during the interviews either. This is not a meaning use of time and should not be in any way considered for inclusion in your college app.
Agree that this is not an entrepreneurial activity. Not all activities are worthy of mentioning on college apps. I’d include this one in that category.
Would a college admissions officer be impressed if she visited the page? Would it make you look better than your application was without it? If there’s no upside, focus instead on what makes you look good.
I don’t see how it can hurt. If I have room in the Additional Information section, don’t have anything else to add there, and don’t plan to include the suspension addendum or the anonymity part then I don’t see any negative aspects of including this.
You didn’t come up with the idea for the page – you took someone else’s after they got closed down. It’s not ethical to claim other people’s ideas as your own.
Are you verifying the information before you post it or do you just upload it? The first would be an attempt at honest journalism; the second is simply rumor mongering. How does that add anything positive to your application? Who’s going to be liable if you try to publish one at your college and somebody decides to sue? If I were an adcom, I wouldn’t want anything to do with it.