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.

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.

Clean Up Your Online Presence

For many people, when seasons change, our thoughts turn to cleaning up our homes – getting rid of the old stuff and organizing the things we actually need and want. We “lighten our load” and it feels good. “Spring” cleaning allows us to think about taking inventory of our lives and getting rid of anything that isn’t helping us live the life we want live or be the person we want to be. Let's extend our idea of “spring” cleaning to our digital footprint as well.