Kaplan Test Prep, famous for their SAT and GRE services, conducts an annual survey of U.S. college admissions panels where they check the percentage of admissions officers who use the internet for background checks on applicants. In 2013, the fifth year of the survey, they reported an all-time high: 29% of admission officers polled admitted to using Google to research prospective students, and 31% to checking Facebook or other social networking sites.

Thirty percent of the officers admitted to finding something on the internet that negatively impacted the student’s application. So now that applications are done and are in the process of being reviewed, it’s best not to take any chances with your online presence. You never know who’s reading what you’re tweeting!

*Twitter does offer the option of private accounts. If you have a private account, people you haven’t approved will not be able to read anything you post.

DO:

1. Tweet about events and trends that sync with your preferred major, especially if you are applying for a post-grad degree. This shows admissions officers that you are genuinely interested and tuned into the latest news in your declared field.


2. Twitter does have its fair share of entertaining celebrities, but make sure you balance your Justin Bieber-news updates with slightly more ‘serious’ figures: perhaps CEOs of major companies or admirable authors. Who you follow indicates a great deal about your interests, so make sure they appear varied and well-balanced.


3. Make your tweets snappy and socially-relevant. Put out interesting links, pictures, or opinions on things that concern you. Remember that, thanks to its nearly completely public profile, Twitter is the best place to build an image of yourself for people who really don’t know you.

1. The case of the female student who spent her time at a Bowdoin College education fair complaining about the other attendees (on her Twitter profile and tweeting at the college’s official id, no less) has become an infamous example of what NOT to do with your social media during admission season. The admissions panel did admit that the reason for her rejection was her ‘uncompetitive scores’ (source: The New York Times), the ranting could not have helped her image. So be advised: do not spend your time online complaining about your chosen college and its applicants!


2. In general, avoid making racist, sexist or any sort of negatively-biased comments. This cannot be underlined enough.


3. Don’t spend all your time on Twitter writing about what you ate for lunch or engaging in personal arguments with your friends.


4. Refrain from posting pictures of yourself in compromising situations. This means no drunken pictures and no posts about you doing something illegal.