Some colleges are looking at prospective students’ profiles on social networking websites when deciding admissions and scholarships, according to a study from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Twenty-six percent of university admissions offices use search engines and 21 percent use social networks to research applicants, according to the study.
The Boston University Admissions Office does not “typically review Facebook or MySpace pages,” said school spokesman Colin Riley.
The office would not have the amount of time needed to check the thousands of students’ online profiles, according to a BU admissions coordinator who spoke on the condition of anonymity because employees are not authorized to speak to the press.
“We receive about 35,000 applications . . . and we can’t do that much of an in-depth investigation,” the coordinator said. “We wouldn’t bring up a student’s Facebook.com profile or MySpace. We allow students to express themselves in a way they feel best shows who they are and what their interests are in terms of Boston University.”
Although colleges will still consider traditional factors when selecting applicants, prospective students should be aware their online profiles will be seen by some colleges, said Center for Marketing Research Director Nora Barnes.
“The content of their sites could have far-reaching effects on their academic futures if they are not careful,” she said.
The center’s study, which examined 453 national universities, follows up on a previous study about Fortune 500 companies’ social media habits. Researchers reported academic institutions are more familiar with social media and adopt the technology faster than the Fortune 500 companies.
Fifty-five percent of college admissions offices surveyed said they are very familiar with social networking.
The group surveyed public and private institutions with student enrollments between 50 and more than 50,000 and annual tuitions ranging from less than $1,000 to more than $40,000 in 49 states.
“People’s reaction is very much like, ‘They’re spying on us, and we had no idea,'” Barnes said. “But anytime you put something on the Internet, it’s for public consumption. It doesn’t really matter what your intent was.”
Universities may also use social media when they have to make “critical” decisions about scholarship recipients and acceptance into smaller programs, Barnes said.
“[Admissions offices] are hoping to find nothing,” Barnes said, “but they don’t want to give [a scholarship] and find out the recipient has, let’s say, naked pictures on Facebook.com. However, schools aren’t sitting around Googling names of students.”
Although a review of an applicant’s Facebook or MySpace profile may seem invasive to some, Barnes said the Internet provides information to the public.
Barnes called the study a “wake-up call” and recommended students represent themselves in a positive light on websites like Facebook and MySpace.
“Once they get beyond the initial ‘Oh my God, they’re looking,’ they should realize that you have a responsibility to control the information you put online and who sees it,” she said. “Turn the tables and use your profile to market yourself.”