Leveraging Social Media's Persuasive Power in College Admissions Decisions

“By inviting college admissions officers to look at their social media, students can provide these decision makers with a distinguishing and informative digital essay of their lives.”

Social media’s role in college, grad school and even employment decisions is evolving as quickly as the evolution of social media itself. This rapid evolution makes it difficult to accurately measure social media’s impact on college and employment decisions.

Social media review at the college level has become significantly more nuanced than the antiquated vision of an admissions officer Googling the name of a prospective student. As the way colleges are utilizing social media evolves, so must the social media advice proffered to college-bound students.

Hopefully, the days of college admissions officers aimlessly performing a Google search on applicants seem to be on the decline (if they ever truly existed at all). The idea that college admissions officers will unilaterally search social media activities of applicants for evidence of malfeasance has always been a weak and unsustainable argument. Recent surveys show a majority of colleges are open to the idea of enabling students to leverage social media as a supplement to their college applications. This willingness also extends to graduate schools and employment opportunities.

We have been saying for years that when it comes to social media and college admissions, having nothing to hide from college admissions officers is not the same as having something to show. So a natural question to ask is whether college admissions officers who consider social media to be fair game in the decision making process will look at social media if invited to do so by the applicant. Harvard’s Dean of Admissions has already answered that question.

“If someone sends us a link of any kind, it doesn’t have to be from some company or some organization, if it seems relevant to making the best possible case for that person’s admission, we will certainly take a look at it.”

— WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS

Students should be encouraged to leverage the willingness of college admissions officers to view applicant social media by making it a part of their application package. Only a small percentage of applicants take advantage of this powerful differentiator which explains why there is such a disparity between admissions officers who are willing to look at social media and those who actually look.

The business of college admissions has moved beyond the metrics best delivered by the traditional college application. Students and parents who understand these dynamics will be in a better position to navigate the admissions process in strategic and opportunistic ways.

Standardized test scores do not necessarily predict a student’s success at college which is why nearly 80% of bachelor’s degree-granting colleges and universities are not requiring ACT or SAT scores from students seeking to enroll in fall 2022. Many colleges have adopted a holistic approach towards student assessment, looking beyond GPA and test scores. Test-optional and holistic admissions review an applicant’s whole academic and lived experience. Many schools are placing an increasing emphasis on personal qualities that will lead students to succeed in college. This renewed focus includes examining “curiosity, love of learning, perseverance, and grit” in addition to the standard “grades, rigor, curriculum, and other qualitative data.”

Social media is one way of delivering this missing and actionable information to admissions, enrollment, and financial offices. Not only can social media positively impact acceptance and scholarship decisions by showing an applicant’s readiness, abilities, skills, and character but it can also be used to gauge an applicant’s interest in attending a particular college. While great grades and academic rigor will continue to be the primary metric for college admissions, a student's chances for admission will greatly improve once they understand how to utilize social media to demonstrate interest, convey good character, and showcase the skills and personal attributes colleges are looking for to set themselves apart from other qualified applicants.

The best generic advice for students is to create a discoverable social media presence designed for colleges that showcases their character, highlights their service, and/or conveys their commitment to an activity. Social media should be viewed as their digital college essay which can be appended to their college applications.

To quote a line from Field of Dreams - “Build it and they will come.”