Each year, admission officers weigh up applications for prestigious scholarships. To be admitted, people would need to have stellar grades and active in extra-curricular programs, while at high school. Students with glowing recommendations will also likely be admitted at top universities. There are many resources that admission officers can access to examine prospective students and one of them is just one click away: the social media. In many cases, they ask for our social media accounts, but if they want to be discreet, they could search for our accounts independently. High school students who want to get admission to top universities should make sure that they have excellent online presence.
It is not certain whether good social media behavior can be a deciding factor for being admitted in top universities. In reality, some universities decide whether content of our Facebook page could cause us to get admitted. Social media is a place where people often honestly say their opinions. Admission officers could see how we behave in online media and the pattern can be monitored quite well. If we are strong candidates of top universities, it is important that we should present ourselves in a good and proper way in social media. By behaving properly in social media, it is also possible for people to avoid any kind of embarrassment, both personally and institutionally.
Things can be bad if incriminating and indecent photos are shown on our online media. Admission officers may delve deeper into a Facebook account, so it is important that our accounts will always stand up to the detailed scrutiny. If students have made mistakes using social media, they should check their accounts and remove all kinds of images and comments that could be used against them. Facebook pages could become our online resume and they clearly say whether we are fully committed to specific lessons, courses and extracurricular activities at school. Our online presence should showcase our accomplishments, passions and talents. At least, social media should become a neutral photo album and discussion media with friends, related to harmless topics.
Information in social media accounts should be accessible, concise and clear. We should be aware that strangers and friends will read many things on our information page. It is not a good idea to use inappropriate email address and social media account name. We should use appropriate and neutral-looking profile picture. We should feature ourselves while performing, volunteering and playing favorite sport, instead of photos when we are in a party or tourist destinations. It is a social suicide to use pictures that contain references to alcohol, drugs and inappropriate gestures. Photos that we upload should showcase different parts of our personality.
Some pictures may seem to be funny, but we may not be aware that they are somewhat incriminating and distasteful for people who were not involved in them. Admission officers will assume that we will join out of control parties in colleges, based on our social media activities.
