Social Networking Sites & College Admissions

You may have heard of employers checking out job applicants online, on social networking sites like Facebook.

Colleges are starting to do the same.

24% of U.S. colleges and universities use social networking sites to find out more about their applicants.

That’s according to Kaplan Test Prep.

The agency says in 2008, only 10% of schools used social media in that way.

Northern Michigan University Director of Admissions Gerri Daniels says NMU does not vet its applicants through social networking sites.

Daniels says because those sites have nothing to do with the academic qualifications of each student, NMU has no interest in using the sites in the admissions process.

However, Daniels knows of other admissions departments that do use the sites in that way.

She’s involved with the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and she says the group has had a great deal of discussion about social media the last few years.