"Ten Stupid Ways to Ruin Your College Application"....Washington Post

[Americanski]

<p>

The Yale rep was doing a wonderful job, but the 20 kids and parents were somewhat intimidated and silent

</p>

<p>That’s not surprising given the fearful reverence most people here seem to have for admissions officers. They seem to view them as petty, fickle gods that must be supplicated.</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>full piece: [Our</a> View :: Editorials :: Daily Southtown](<a href=“http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/opinion/editorials/636168,110607CollegeAdmissions.article]Our”>http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/opinion/editorials/636168,110607CollegeAdmissions.article)</p>

<p>excerpts</p>

<p>

The Issue: More and more, schools of higher learning are scoping out applicants through Internet sites and search tools.</p>

<p>We say: The only surprise about this is many young people are shocked to learn admissions officers know about YouTube.</p>

<p>There’s a new factor in the college admissions equation that none of the parents of today’s high school juniors and seniors had to worry about. Many of these parents may not even be aware of this new factor. And we would wager that a big percentage of the students themselves may be fully aware of this new factor but don’t consider it something they should worry about.</p>

<p>They shouldn’t kid themselves. What a high school kid does or says online today could very well turn up in his or her admissions file and might play a role in a college’s decision process.

</p>

<p>

In the Oct. 21 Daily Southtown, staff writer Angela Caputo reported on a recent survey of 450 public and private colleges and universities about whether they use various Internet tools in the admissions process. More than one in four said they used search engines such as Google to see what came up about applicants. More than one in five said they use networking sites such as Facebook.</p>

<p>Those numbers only can increase. Internet searches afford quick and easy access to all kinds of information about individuals, which might include blog entries by the applicant or mentions in others’ blogs or even traditional news stories.

</p>

[DJMom]

<p>I’ve discussed this thread/topic with my son to warn him about the content on his Facebook site; not that there is anything inappropriate on it. He said admission officers can’t view it because it’s set to private. Is this correct? I’m not familiar with the ins and outs of Facebook, Youtube,etc. I just want to make sure he doesn’t do anything that would jeopardize his chances.</p>

[Americanski]

<p>

More than one in four said they used search engines such as Google to see what came up about applicants. More than one in five said they use networking sites such as Facebook.

</p>

<p>That’s concerning enough, but I wonder why the survey didn’t ask them how often they actually use what they find on the internet in evaluating an applicant.</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>Americanski-- here’s the 10/21 article (‘Someone’s always watching’) cited above with a little more detail on the mentioned survey, which appears to have been conducted by U Mass:
[Colleges</a> turn to Facebook :: News :: Daily Southtown](<a href=“http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/612381,102107facebook.article]Colleges”>http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/612381,102107facebook.article)</p>

<p>unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything new in this article to answer your question on

how often they actually use what they find on the internet in evaluating an applicant.

</p>

<p>this passage allludes to the use of internet sources in general evaluations, but how often the internet info causes a rejection will be a statistic we won’t see in years, IMHO, due to the newness of this practice and yet-to-be-established standards for conducting searches using the info in an admissions context.</p>

<p>

Of the approximately 450 public and private schools surveyed for Barnes’ research, 26 percent reported evaluating potential students through search engines such as Google. Another 21 percent said that they look to social networking sites.</p>

<p>No strong demographic pattern emerged from the study, according to researchers who found neither big nor small, public nor private schools are more likely to conduct the character searches.</p>

<p>Colleges and universities are reluctant to publicize that they seek out information about prospective students online, particularly because it’s not done consistently, Barnes said.

</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p><a href=“Center for Marketing Research | UMass Dartmouth”>Center for Marketing Research | UMass Dartmouth;
<a href=“Center for Marketing Research | UMass Dartmouth”>Center for Marketing Research | UMass Dartmouth;

<p>“The Game Has Changed: College Admissions Outpace Corporations
in Embracing Social Media”</p>

<p>Nora Barnes, the primary author, approaches this subject from a marketing perspective, having studied the blogosphere for the private sector.</p>

<p>

For the approximately 2,000 four-year accredited colleges and universities in the US, the name of the game is recruiting the best students. It is a highly competitive process often influenced by factors that are more subjective than objective and more emotional than logical. In this challenging environment, social media (in the form of blogs, podcasts, message boards, social networking, videos and wikis) has become an important new marketing tool.</p>

<p>Following up on our popular study of the Inc. 500s social media habits, this new study examines the familiarity with, usage of, and attitude towards social media by the Admission Offices of 453 US colleges and universities. The results are fascinating and drive our statistically-based knowledge of organizational social media habits even farther forward.</p>

<p>Generally, the marketing teams of academic institutions are more familiar with and adopting social media faster (especially blogs) than even the innovative companies of the Inc. 500. Even more importantly, they are using social media and search engines to research potential students. No longer can applicants behave irresponsibly online without potential consequences to their futures (and their parents sanity).

</p>

<p>looks like using internet info by admissions folks is only going to increase:

The adoption of social media by admissions departments is being driven by familiarity and their recognition of the increasing role of social media in today’s world. Interestingly, admissions departments feel that social media is “very important” to their future strategy in almost a 2:1 ratio to Inc. 500 businesses that feel the same way (51% compared to 26%).

</p>

<p>

These results only begin to scratch the surface of the data gathered. And while we’re saving some additional detailed and exciting results for several academic articles (see below) later this year, there is one point that must be shared right now because of its ground-breaking nature. A significant proportion of schools are beginning to research students via search engines (26%) and social networks (21%). While certainly the traditional factors will still play dominant roles in admissions decisions, no longer can students place damaging material online without potential consequences.

</p>

<p>

A more thorough write-up of our research into social media adoption by university and college admissions departments will be published in several journals in the second half of 2007.

</p>

<p>I found no recently published articles on the topic with Nora Barnes as author thru Google Scholar.</p>

[Americanski]

<p>

but how often the internet info causes a rejection will be a statistic we won’t see in years, IMHO, due to the newness of this practice and yet-to-be-established standards for conducting searches using the info in an admissions context.

</p>

<p>I don’t know what standards you could really codify, which is one reason it’s such a bad idea to let admissions people do this in the first place.</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>I’m no social scientist, but perhaps first the debate must proceed on social norm issues, like privacy, civility & ethics, before codes & legalities can be established. There always seems to be a period of uncertainty when a new technology pushes the fringe on these social issues. The advent of email many moons ago and availability of health care information come to mind…took years for the debates to shape the norms on how elements of our society “should” treat these information sources (of course the debates will probably never stop.)</p>

<p>I think its inevitable, though, that if there is publicly accessible information available, people will use it to their ends, unless there are influencing factors abating such use, like social norms or laws. Like it or not, college admissions folks may have access to applicant information in this relatively new blogosphere category, and they should be expected to make use of that information to further their mission, until compelled not to.</p>

<p>Here’s an interesting article by Susan Barnes (a different Barnes than mentioned a few posts above) of RIT on “A Privacy Paradox: Social Networking in the United States.”
[A</a> privacy paradox: Social networking in the United States](<a href=“http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_9/barnes/]A”>http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_9/barnes/)</p>

<p>abstract

Teenagers will freely give up personal information to join social networks on the Internet. Afterwards, they are surprised when their parents read their journals. Communities are outraged by the personal information posted by young people online and colleges keep track of student activities on and off campus. The posting of personal information by teens and students has consequences. This article will discuss the uproar over privacy issues in social networks by describing a privacy paradox; private versus public space; and, social networking privacy issues. It will finally discuss proposed privacy solutions and steps that can be taken to help resolve the privacy paradox.

</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>yikes-- here’s a good one…a 36 page manual on “A parents guide to social networking sites” (produced by the State of Idaho), replete with myspace & facebook screenshots, and even a glossary of internet acronyms…
<a href=“http://www2.state.id.us/ag/protecteens/ParentsGuideToSocialNetworking.pdf[/url]”>http://www2.state.id.us/ag/protecteens/ParentsGuideToSocialNetworking.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[cptofthehouse]

<p>Many of the things on the list are not going to affect any given application. It’s just that any of them CAN. There are only so many things a student can do to help is application, and avoiding certain pitfalls as listed is something he can do. You may think you are an anonymous member when going on a general tour or info session at a college, and most of the time you are. It’s just that you never know who else is in that group with you. Making snide or joking remarks about the school, tour guide, etc to another member of the group is not smart because you do not know who this person is. As another poster mentioned, your district interviewer could be touring. It could be any employee of the university or even admissions office, and they may remember you. So that other college shirt or ripped pants and straggly hair may be making an impression to someone who does have some say. You may not want that image of you to come to mind when your app is viewed. </p>

<p>We went to a general tour/info session at one college where I figured we were pretty much incognito since we had had no contact with the school and just dropped in. Son filled out a small card. They were able to track him down to his highschool, and it turned out that the admissions director’s daughter knew someone at his school, and she was the tour guide. My son spoken with her without having any knowledge of this . You just never know</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>more on the facebook debate…recent article from the Brown Herald…
[Admission</a> officers poke around Facebook - Campus News](<a href=“http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2007/09/10/CampusNews/Admission.Officers.Poke.Around.Facebook-2958428.shtml]Admission”>http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2007/09/10/CampusNews/Admission.Officers.Poke.Around.Facebook-2958428.shtml)</p>

<p>

“We don’t use Facebook unless someone says there’s something we should look at,” said Dean of Admission James Miller '73. But Miller conceded that admission officers take outside tips seriously. “Anything we get, we follow up on,” he said.</p>

<p>Associate Director of College Admission Elisha Anderson '98 agreed with Miller. There is a “limit to what we can appropriately judge people on,” he said, but added, “You have to remember (Facebook) is a public place.” He said there was “maybe one case” in which Facebook yielded information that affected an admission decision.</p>

<p>Sometimes admission officers receive friend requests on Facebook from applicants, Anderson said, noting that accepting the requests “would appear weird.”</p>

<p>At least one admission officer at Brown questioned even case-by-case visits to Facebook profiles when evaluating applications.</p>

<p>“I don’t think that’s a fair practice,” said Victor Ning '07, a Brown admission officer who said he looks only at the materials the students send to the office. Though he said he doesn’t think admission officers consult Facebook during the application “reading season,” he still warned, “Students should definitely be careful,” adding that potential employers could be on Facebook too.</p>

<p>Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, was stunned that any admission officers would use Facebook in the admission process. “If they use it, our recommendation would be to stop immediately because it’s inappropriate,” he said.

</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>article out today…on the use of these sites by colleges to check out applicants & on how applicants use these sites to sell themselves…</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/19/16applicants.h27.html[/url]”>http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/19/16applicants.h27.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>“Online Profiles a Factor in College Admissions”</p>

<p>

Applicants use new Web tools to sell themselves, as some colleges scan students’ social networks.
By Scott J. Cech </p>

<p>As this year’s college-application season ratchets up to a fever pitch, more and more student applications are being supplemented by information from their online profiles—whether they know it or not. </p>

<p>According to a preview of unpublished research on the online activities of higher education institutions, a significant percentage of colleges and universities sometimes dig into would-be undergraduates’ social-networking profiles. </p>

<p>At the same time, high school students accustomed to social-networking Web sites have flocked to new online sites that let them send information about themselves to colleges in hopes of gaining an edge over fellow applicants. </p>

<p>“It’s only natural, given today’s students’ comfort with sharing personal information on a Facebook or MySpace,” said Tony Pals, a spokesman for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, a Washington-based organization of more than 900 private institutions. “Students are further motivated by the fact that college admissions has never been so competitive.” </p>

<p>Most of the sites—Admish.com, ■■■■■■■■■■, EdSoup.com, and *****.com, among others—are very new, and all are geared toward high schoolers who want to maximize their college chances. </p>

<p>*****, which was co-founded by a Princeton University student and launched last March, “is one of many sites that are trying to do the same thing,” said Jeannine C. Lalonde, an assistant dean of admission at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, who also maintains an admissions blog. But, she said, “it’s the one that most students seem to prefer.”

</p>

<p>

Students, who sign on to the site for free, create password-protected online profiles for themselves, and can upload photos, detailed personal information, and multimedia files of academic, artistic, or athletic performances. They then specify which colleges or types of colleges among the 400 institutions they would like to receive their profiles. Colleges can then access and search among the profiles. </p>

<p>“It allows the high school student to basically knock on the colleges’ door and say, ‘This is who I am,’ ” said the 23-year-old Mr. Hagen, whose own college-admissions experience inspired the site.

</p>

<p>

Still, Mr. Hagen concedes that he has no idea whether the package made any difference in his admission, and his site makes no promises to students that their chances will be any better just because they have a ***** profile. </p>

<p>“At the end of the day, the student is still going to have to apply through the regular application process,” he noted. </p>

<p>But the University of Virginia’s Ms. Lalonde worries that *****’s emphasis on personal details—there are optional blanks for religion, sexual orientation, and favorite movies, for example—“might be giving kids the false sense that ‘my résumé can get me in,’ whereas your academics are what’s going to get you get you in.” </p>

<p>She also questioned admissions officers’ need for ***** and its competitors, given the popularity of the 35-year-old Student Search Service, a relatively simple search engine owned by the New York City-based College Board. More than 1,400 colleges and universities used the service last year to search through the academic information of more than 6 million college-bound high school students.</p>

<p>And given the record-high level of student applicants this year, there’s the additional question of whether a central ***** feature—the ability of colleges to fine-tune their recruiting to include such minutiae as whether a student plays a certain instrument—will pay off in the foreseeable future. </p>

<p>“[*****] is an interesting change in the admissions process,” said Daniel Creasy, an admissions officer at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. But, he added, “I don’t see us jumping on. We have enough students interested in Hopkins coming through the normal channels.”

</p>

<p>…& more on the practice of admissions folks googling applicants…</p>

[trewsaz]

<p>hahaha that article is great. though the facebook thing was a little scary :S</p>