Your digital persona matters when it comes to college admissions. If you're not already involved in the process, you ought to know that it's become sort of a competitive sport in it's own right. Parents and teens are doing everything they can to make sure that their application will stand out. In fact, the latest Kaplan survey of college admissions officers found that 66% said that an applicant's social media is FAIR GAME during the admissions process. What does that mean in practical terms for you/your teen? It means that you can no longer ignore the impact your teen's digital communication can have on their future.

Social media gives us the opportunity to tell the world who we are and show ourselves in the way we want to be seen.

Think about what you post and ask yourself, “what does this photo/text/tweet, etc. say about me?” In the internet age, perception is reality and you aren’t going to get a chance to explain yourself or your post to all the people who see your post. They will never know what you posted was a meant as a joke or a misspelling or auto-correct led to a completely different post than what you originally intended it to be.

SOCIAL MEDIA IS USUALLY THE FIRST PLACE PEOPLE GO IF THEY’RE IN THE MARKET FOR A NEW JOB. IT’S A GREAT WAY TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP YOU IN YOUR JOB SEARCH, SEE WHO’S HIRING, AND IN SOME CASES, EVEN APPLY FOR A JOB WITH A COUPLE OF CLICKS. WHILE SOCIAL MEDIA CAN HELP YOU FIND YOUR DREAM JOB, IT CAN ALSO HURT YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING THAT JOB IF YOU DON’T SPEND SOME TIME CONSIDERING YOUR OWN SOCIAL MEDIA USE.

How has social media changed college admissions both from an admissions department perspective and an applicant’s perspective?

Most admissions departments look at social media as another tool in their arsenal to evaluate students during the admissions process. Some schools told me they regularly use students’ social media in their evaluation of potential candidates for admission while others said that while they don’t use it for most students, they do however use it for some.

The truth is, you’ll never going to know whether or not the admissions officer reviewing your application is going to check your social media accounts or not.

The latest Kaplan survey found that 66% of admissions professionals polled consider an applicants’ social media FAIR GAME. If they check, (usually Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube) it’s often to learn more about an applicant that might pique their interest but doesn’t fall into the “Definitely Yes” pile based on their application alone.

Social media gives us the opportunity to tell the world who we are and show ourselves in the way we want to be seen.

Think about what you post and ask yourself, “what does this photo/text/tweet, etc. say about me?” In the internet age, perception is reality and you aren’t going to get a chance to explain yourself or your post to all the people who see your post. They will never know what you posted was a meant as a joke or a misspelling or auto-correct led to a completely different post than what you originally intended it to be.