While college admission officers are increasingly making use of students’ social media profiles to know more about applicants, it need not necessarily be a bane completely

In fact, a study by Kaplan Test Prep in 2010 proves otherwise. A total of 386 colleges and universities participated in the survey and its analysis show that 82 percent of college admission officers make use of Facebook for student recruitment and further, 80 percent of the college admission officers received friend requests from the students seeking admission. Thus, it will be safe to assume that social networks can be beneficial for college admissions. In this article, we highlight some of the benefits.

 Advertising a College via Facebook Page

A lot of medical, management, engineering colleges have active Facebook pages where teachers and students actively engage in creating a community. They post event pictures, academic achievements and upcoming events. In short, the colleges use the page to advertise themselves. If you are seeking college admission, you can go to Facebook and search for your favorite list of colleges and see the kind of social media engagement they seem to encourage. You can contact the college via the page and get in touch with college admissions officer.

Be Clear of Privacy Settings

It is a fact that what goes live online, stays there forever. Sites like Twitter, MySpace and Facebook have good privacy setting provisions. If you are looking for college admission, know that the admission officers will search you online. When they do, you don’t want to come across as a person of disrepute and frivolity surely. Therefore, it is in your benefit to keep social media profiles clean of any slander or misdemeanor. Use the privacy settings always.

Show your Achievements

Social media networks are a great way to show achievements. If you are a star sportsperson, a topper in debates, active in co-curricular activities, representative of your school and other achievements that make you stand out of the crowd, make sure to feature them on your social media profile. The settings should be such that the ‘public’ can view them. These achievements show the kind of person you are and what prospective colleges can expect from you.

Put up the Real You

Displaying achievements is just a task half done. College admissions officers are looking to know the real persona behind the name. Therefore, use the social network to show more about your life, family background, friendships etc. Upload pictures of travel trips taken with friends, show any charity work done, the books you love to read, your philosophy of life, what you want to achieve in future and so on.

Avoid Pretension

College admission officials are not fools. Therefore, if you are using social networks to gain college admission, make sure you do not lie or pretend. Your deceitfully crafted social presence might get you an interview, but they will not accept your application if the person sitting in front of them is different from the one they viewed online. It is essential to remain honest and ethical about any approach you take to get into that favorite college.

Apart from the benefits of digital age, make sure you have secured letters of recommendation, written admission essays, filled out the application trustfully, and got test scores and proof of extracurricular activities done in the past. In all, the admissions committee wants a “real” student. Your presence and activities on Facebook and other social networks can either make or break your efforts. Be truthful, honest, dignified and dedicate