Googling and Ivy League Admission

Googling and Ivy League Admission September 28, 2013 Clean up your online presence now as more and more Ivy League admissions officers are Googling applicants. Theres an article out in Business Insider written by Alan Katzman entitled Why Ivy League Admissions Officers Have No Choice But To Google College Applicants that discusses how more and more Ivy League admissions officers are turning to social media and Google to distinguish one applicant from another. Its nothing we havent previously written about. Ivy League admissions officers are human beings. They have curiosities. When they get to know you by reading your personal statement and letters of recommendation, why wouldnt they run a simple Google search of your name? Katzman points out that with so many qualified applicants applying to the eight Ivy League institutions, Googling a candidate seems the natural next step. As he writes in the piece, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Google+, Instagram, Vine and other social media platforms and online blogs provide college admissions officers with a readily available window to assess the applicant’s transparency, credibility, maturity, genuineness and likeability. Access to this information is fast, easy and anonymous. Without doubt, this trend is unfair to the applicant who likely has viewed these platforms as a casual outlet for private interactions with friends. Nevertheless, what is shared online has no half-life and is accessible by anyone with an interest in finding you. And find you they will. So, if youre a high school student, what is your online presence like? What is on Page 1 of your Google search engine result page? Page 2? Is your Facebook profile visible to the public? What are you writing on that Twitter feed of yours? And how about those scandalous photos on Instagram? Its high time to clean your online presence up. Ready go. And, while youre here, read about Social Media in Ivy League Admission.