Social Media Profiles of Applicants

Hello,

(First of all, apologies if this is the wrong forum to post in! I’m very new to being active in this community)

I know that many colleges look at applicants’ social media profiles, but if your account is private or you use a false name for some accounts (finstas, etc.) would they still be able to find you? I’ve heard that there are ways to track down your social media accounts based on your email address or other personal information that you’d provide in the application, but I don’t know if this is true. I also have a really common name and when you look it up on, say, Facebook, there are so many profiles that pop up that aren’t actually me. My profile is nowhere near the top of the results, so does that increase the chances of an admissions officer finding the wrong page and thinking it’s me (which could be bad if that wrong profile has some negative content that could hurt my chances). Sorry if I seem paranoid but I’d appreciate any feedback!

I don’t think most adcons would track down applicants’ media profiles, particularly if the applicant is using a pseudonym. How would they accomplish that? Students should still be careful about posting of course.