Facebook and College Admissions

elaslawek
Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:00:46 +0000

Let’s be honest here - Does a school with thousands of applicants have the time and money to look for applicant’s Facebook/Myspace pages? No

Are they going to check every single applicant? No.

Which applicants are they going to check, if they even check any?

“In a recent case, the university researched a student who disclosed on his application that he had been disciplined for fighting. The school found a Facebook page with a picture of the applicant holding a gun. “We have to use this information to make the best decision for the university,” Mr. Griffin says.”

Applicants that appear to cause harm to other students. Who wouldn’t do a background check on an applicant who had been “disciplined for fighting”? This background check could even be a call to guidance counselor, not even a facebook check. If one were “disciplined for fighting”, one is easily a threat to other students on campus and therefore a college has a right not to accept that student

“… but if an offensive Facebook post came to the college’s attention, the school would examine it, Ms. Rapelye says. “All of us would consider anything that would cause us to doubt a student’s character,” she says.” (Princeton Dean of Admissions)

Where does offensive Facebook post cross the line and what would one cause us to doubt a student’s character?

-A friend writing the f word on your facebook? Colleges don’t except you to be perfect. Everyone is human and everyone curses. A college that is going to deny you admissions because you posted the f word on your facebook is not one worth attending. Does one saying a “curse” word doubt a student’s character? Not in a long shot.


A picture of you holding a beer? A picture of you holding a beer or even drinking one isn’t going to send an alarm to colleges. Really now, colleges know who they are dealing with - teenagers. They don’t expect you to be perfect, as mentioned above. Those on the admissions committees were once teens and most likely have done the same thing during their teenage years. Will a college deny you acceptance when it sees a picture of you with a beer when it passes a blind eye to drinking on its campus and in its doors? What schools, maybe besides Chicago (even though Chicago has recently lots of alcohol incidents), don’t have alcohol on campus with parties and underage drinking? A lot of you are going to cringe and try to fight me on this one, but the college experience in the majority of these places revolves around drinking. The college experience has and always will be around alcohol. You can give me little examples of how you and you friends stay sober but look at the campus as a whole - Look at Dartmouth; The majority of students there drink, no question about that at all, and Dartmouth is a top institution. Colleges aren’t looking for students who study the entire time. They are looking for those who can work hard and play hard, students who can contribute something more to the campus rather then just taken up space in a dorm room.
This also brings up the question- does a picture of one drinking cause a doubt in one’s character? The answer to this one is obviously a no. I would of course answer yes if it were dealing with drinking and driving, but just drinking? CollegeConfidential has become a place where even mentioning alcohol is considered blasphemous. Colleges know students drink, and they will NOT deny you because they see a picture of you with a beer.


Examples of what I think cross the line are blatant drug use (not cigarettes) and vandalism to personal property. Smoking a cigarette is not crossing the line and definitely does not doubt one’s character. Making racist, homophobic, or threatening remarks does cross the line, as does blatantly dissing a school as the example of one person getting admissions rescinded posted above.

What it comes down to – No, a college will more then likely not check your facebook unless your record deems it appropriate. If you are still afraid because a buddy of yours wrote the f word on your page or because you were at a party with alcohol and there were pictures taken, you can easily change your facebook/myspace name. For boys, I recommend adding the last name ‘Swift’ or ‘Alba’. For ladies, I recommend adding the last name ‘Lautner’ or ‘Bieber’