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                <p>'Tis the season. Colleges have sent out their admissions decisions, with  prospective students eagerly sorting through acceptances and  rejections. This week's question from Derrick L. in New York, N.Y.  tackles the question of whether an applicant's social media activity has  an effect on college admissions.</p>
                <p><strong>Q:</strong> <strong>Can what I post on Facebook get me  rejected from college?</strong></p>
                <p><strong>A:  Are admissions officers too busy to care about Facebook profiles?<br /></strong><i>Steve Loflin, founder and CEO, National Society of Collegiate  Scholars</i><i><br /></i></p>
                <p>Colleges are receiving more applications than ever  and it is competitive to get a spot. Knowing that, you should put your  energy and effort into making sure you are academically prepared and  submitting the strongest application possible. When it comes to  Facebook, be smart about your privacy settings and you can control  exactly who has access.</p>
                <p>Nevertheless, be aware  of how your Facebook posts may be interpreted by someone who doesn't  know you. You should also know my friends/colleagues who are admissions  officers tell me they are too swamped to be checking college applicant  Facebook profiles.</p>
                <p>[Follow 10 steps to  <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/usnews/ts_usnews/storytext/canfacebookpostsleadtocollegerejections/40977202/SIG=1393ferck/*http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/04/04/10-steps-to-picking-the-right-college">picking  the right college</a>.]</p>
                <p><strong>A: A  racy Facebook profile could ruin your college odds--why risk it?<br /></strong><i>Michele Hernandez, president and founder,  Hernandez College  Consulting</i><strong><br /></strong></p>
                <p>Do admissions officers look up every student's page?  No, of course not--how could they with 30,000 applicants? However, you  can't control the behavior of others. What if a jealous friend was to  send a Facebook link to an admissions office in an attempt to sabotage  your application? This was a major scandal this year at Choate and  several students were expelled/suspended.</p>
                <p>Though  it's not the norm for admissions officers to actively search out  information on a student, they could, especially if there were any  warning signs from recommendation letters or any other school  information. Admissions officers want students who are upstanding  citizens in every way--a salacious Facebook page would be counter to what  they are looking for.</p>
                <p><strong>A:  Don't take the chance--use good common sense.</strong><br /><i>James  Montoya, vice president of higher education, The College   Board</i><i><br /></i></p>
                <p>One  of the important things to keep in mind about selective college  admission is that those evaluating applications are real people--often  under 30 years old and often Facebook users themselves. Though the  evaluation process typically focuses on what is required of  applicants--your completed application, transcript, SAT scores, essays,  and letters of recommendation--there are no standard professional  guidelines that discourage admission officers from viewing an  applicant's Facebook page.</p>
                <p>So why risk having  something posted on your Facebook page that reflects poorly on you? A  personal quality that colleges like to see in all applicants is good  common sense. Use it in all your interactions with public websites.</p>
                <p>[Read 5 do's and don'ts for <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/usnews/ts_usnews/storytext/canfacebookpostsleadtocollegerejections/40977202/SIG=13d80dbqn/*http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2010/05/12/5-dos-and-donts-for-college-students-using-social-media">college  students using social media</a>.]</p>
                <p><strong>A:  While social networking, portray yourself in a responsible manner.	</strong><br /><i>Stacey Kostell, director of admissions, <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/usnews/ts_usnews/storytext/canfacebookpostsleadtocollegerejections/40977202/SIG=13amv77fq/*http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-of-illinois-urbana-champaign-1775">University    of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign</a></i></p>
                <p>It is possible that comments posted on social media  sites, including Facebook, could affect your admission decision.  Admissions counselors at Illinois are tech savvy and monitor our  official presence on social networks daily. More than likely, your  engagement on such sites would only be reviewed if the admissions  counselors had a reason.</p>
                <p>For example, we may  search your page if another student/parent reported a disturbing post or  you wrote something questionable on our admissions/university page. We  understand these are social sites, but if any content is posted that  could be perceived as threatening or hurtful, we have an obligation to  look into it.</p>
                <p><strong>A:  Facebook can hurt, but also help, when applying to college.<br /></strong><i>Katherine  Cohen, founder and CEO, IvyWise and ApplyWise.com</i><strong><br /></strong><i><br /></i>While admissions officers aren't creating fake Facebook  profiles or searching for individual students, they do receive anonymous  "tips" regarding inappropriate student conduct online. Often, schools  are obligated to investigate and offers of admission may be revoked.</p>
                <p>Use the "grandparent test"--if you wouldn't want  your grandparents to see it, don't put it online! This applies to your  blog, Facebook profile and photos, Twitter tweets, and LiveJournal  posts. You can use the Internet to express yourself and show admissions  committees your passion. If you're a photographer or artist, post  pictures. Musicians, start a MySpace page devoted to your music.
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<i>Visit the <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/usnews/ts_usnews/storytext/canfacebookpostsleadtocollegerejections/40977202/SIG=11fvcu0mn/*http://www.unigo.com/expertnetwork/question/2">Unigo  Expert Network</a> to see how 35 other experts feel about Facebook and  to have your own questions answered.</i></p>
            </div></div><p><strong>Read more:</strong> <a class="rssreadon" rel="external" title="Can Facebook Posts Lead to College Rejections?   (U.S. News   World Report)" href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20110406/ts_usnews/canfacebookpostsleadtocollegerejections" target="_blank">http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20110406/ts_usnews/canfacebookpostsleadtocollegerejections</a></p>