A convincing personal statement, a well-rounded resumé, an enthusiastic recommendation letter and high test scores are all included in the traditional recipe for college acceptance. Another ingredient has recently been added to the mix: an appropriate Facebook profile.
Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions recently conducted a survey on college admissions and found that one in ten major universities across the country consider an applicant’s social networking Web site in their decision-making process.
In addition, the survey reported that one in seven law schools visit the social networking sites of their applicants. Of those law schools, over 50 percent said that the Web site negatively affected the applicants’ admissions chances.
The CU Law School does not consider social networking Web sites of any kind in their admissions process.
“We only look at information that the applicant has voluntarily given,” said Kristine Jackson, assistant dean of admissions at the CU Law School, when asked about the use of social networking sites as admissions criteria.”
Students say they think admissions should be based solely on an application.
“I think that admissions should keep the social and professional lives of applicants separate,” said Brittany Dern, a senior history major.
Sophomore Spanish and geography major Cory Chambers also disapproves of Facebook’s new role in the admission process.
“Facebook does not represent how capable we are as students,” Chambers said. “It includes stuff about religious and political affiliations as well, stuff that should not be used as admissions criteria.”
Concern throughout the student body regarding the use of their Facebook profiles extends beyond graduate and undergraduate admissions.
When the time comes to seek an internship or apply for a real job, is it prudent for students to examine their Facebook and filter certain information out?
“I had an internship this summer and I deleted a lot of my photos before hand,” said sophomore communication major Jonathon King.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Allison Doyle at Allison.doyle@colorado.edu.
