Social media gives young adults and teens the opportunity to share interests and express themselves. The way of communicating has changed over the past decade and social media is blowing up with new and popular social networking apps and sites. Sharing activities through social media with friends is a fun and more efficient way to send information out to a large number of people. It’s easy to forget that social media can offer a limited amount of privacy and not think of the consequences of oversharing.

Going to college is an exciting feeling. It is the beginning of a new chapter and new experiences. Completing high school and looking for further education could help with more opportunities. As modern technology is progressing, a perfect GPA and good SAT scores are not always enough to get into college because of the effect it may have on college acceptances.

When students enroll into college, colleges search through any sources that are linked around a student. They look through social media to verify any submitted material that is put into a student’s resume. It also serves as a tool for them to see if you are an acceptable applicant for their school.  Social media outlets like Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter are not just used as a communication tool, but also as a primary way of exposing college students’ personal activities and information. Even if a profile is held private, followers of a student’s account can share and/or screenshot pictures and private information. Admission officers check social media to see if a student is a good fit for their community. When colleges find any harmful information related to a student, they may have second thoughts about welcoming them to their institution. Students are representatives of their school. Any problems or altercations involving the student could hurt the school’s reputation.

When students are being reviewed by admission officers, students present the best version of themselves. Social media is used as a way for colleges see the “real” side of applicants.  Foul language and harsh banter is not an appropriate look for applicants looking to be accepted into college. It takes more than just having good grades to get accepted to college.

Social media can also have a positive effect for students. Depending upon what is posted, social media could increase chances of getting accepted into college. It could also be used to promote charities and sports or be used for internships or as a positive self-portrait to represent how involved the applicant is in the community and in school activities.