College admissions dilemma: to friend or not to friend?

September 18, 10:23 AMCollege Admissions ExaminerLauren Starkey

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Here’s a twist: for the past few years, Facebook users have been warned that college admissions officers were checking them out. Applicants were advised to censor themselves, keeping questionable photos and comments off Facebook (and that’s still sound advice).

But in a recent survey of over 400 college admissions officers, Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions found that 71% had received Facebook friend requests from applicants.  But less than 10% of them bother to accept those requests. Jeff Olson, executive director of research, Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, warns, “students need to be smart about how they use social networking sites.  The reality is that at least for now, only a small number of college admissions officers actually visit applicants’ social networking sites and these visits may not always benefit the applicant.” 

The Kaplan report continues, “some college admissions officers have begun to see value in accepting Facebook friend requests. Admissions officers at Hofstra University in NY proactively invite interested students to send them friend requests at Facebook accounts specifically created for each admissions officer to interact with applicants.”

The issue is becoming more important to colleges as more students, and admissions personnel, attempt to navigate the best ways to use social networking sites for admissions. One tool allows schools to set up fan pages, which give students access to information and allow them to ask questions. 21 percent of schools say they’re developing policies, which is up five percent from last year.  Thirteen percent already have policies in place, up slightly from 2008.

Jeannine C. Lalonde, Senior Assistant Dean of Admission at the University of Virginia says her stance on using Facebook has changed recently.  “I set up a Facebook account for the applicants to ask questions and interact with each other.  I posted a message early on saying that I wasn't going to accept friend requests because I didn't want to see their feeds (stream of status updates that tell your friends what you are up to).  A student pointed out that she wanted my updates in her feed because I had tied my blog and Twitter accounts to my Facebook account.  Being my friend allowed her to monitor what I was writing on those other sites.  That's when I decided to accept friend requests.”

Facebook policies are one more thing worth reviewing as you narrow down the list of colleges to which you’ll apply. If a school asks that you refrain from sending friend requests, listen. And if they allow them, consider the option carefully. You may have cleaned things up, but what’s preventing a friend from posting a party picture next week, or from commenting on the application process and revealing, for example, other schools you’re considering? The application itself is the right vehicle for packaging information about yourself. And you’ve got almost total control. Why give that up for questionable gains?