<p>What does your FB profile, photographs and wall say about you?</p>
<p>Hopeful BS Students: You've done the research, toured many campuses and now you're putting the final touches on your applications. It's been a lot of hard work, but you're almost there! With application deadlines fast approaching, wouldn't it be wise to take one last look at your FB page?</p>
<p>Hopeful BS Parents and Students: Do Secondary School Admissions pay attention to social media and an applicant's digital citizenship? You bet they do.</p>
<p>Two websites worth visiting for further information are Campus Outreach Services and DragonFly Learning. They do amazing seminars at almost all the boarding schools for teachers, students and parents. I definitely recommend checking them out!</p>
<p>Every parent should make sure their kid’s FB privacy settings are maxed out and the cover and profile photos are appropriate.</p>
<p>Excellent point, Momof7thgrader! Many kids do have their privacy settings on lockdown, but some do not. FB account/privacy settings change periodically, so it’s important to stay on top of it. I think many parents would be surprised by the number of teens who have public or semi-public accounts. It’s a great time to check!</p>
<p>Bumping because I have a question:</p>
<p>Yesterday, an acquaintance mentioned that her daughter (who is applying to BS) received FB Friend Requests from two female student tour guides. I thought this was odd (and for the record, so did this family). Has this happened to anyone else? I was curious if this was a new trend or a rare occurrence.</p>
<p>I think it means that the daughter hit it off with her tour guides. I do NOT think the admissions office has commissioned the tour guides to stalk the applicant. </p>
<p>Some teens like to “friend” everyone they’ve ever met. I would not worry about it. As many teens want “friends of friends” to read their pages, I estimate it’s not necessary for an admissions officer to use tour guides in that way. </p>
<p>The daughter could accept the friend requests, but put them on limited profile. It’s a good idea for everyone who uses facebook to check their privacy settings frequently.</p>
<p>Thanks, Periwinkle- My thoughts exactly. I didn’t think the Friend Requests were sinister or admissions driven, but I had never heard of this happening, so I was curious. Perhaps it happens all the time!</p>
<p>I think the daughter was delighted and excited, but the mom and dad wanted to keep communication with the schools formal and limited to the AO. My impression is they were caught off guard, but decided to go with the flow.</p>
<p>I have read of college admissions officers sending applicants Friend Requests, and that does seem to me to be admissions driven. When an adult employed by a college is sending the request, one should be wary.</p>
<p>Yikes, Periwinkle. That does seem a bit off the beaten path.</p>
<p>Thank you, Periwinkle, for the link. Maybe because kids applying to college are generally 18 and legally adults, it changes the rules of the game. I would be surprised if AO’s at boarding schools would send a friend request to a 13 year old. Still, kids applying to secondary school should be aware that their Facebook contents are not as private as they might think.</p>
<p>That was an interesting thread, Periwinkle. Thanks for sharing it!</p>