Looking for scholarships? There’s the usual scholarship search sites and scholarship books. You can find them at your student’s counselor’s office and locally. But what about social media–specifically Instagram? It’s a great place to find out about current and future scholarship opportunities.
Sometimes there are scholarships posted on these accounts that you might not easily find in a typical search. They post lesser known scholarships, often with fewer applicants. This increases your student’s chances of winning!
Social media makes it easier than ever to connect with colleges and their representatives. You can follow them on Twitter, friend them on Facebook, connect with them on LinkedIn, and follow their Pinterest and Instagram accounts. Demonstrate genuine interest and contribute to the conversations; but don’t flood their accounts with replies and questions. In this case, less is more.
When application decision time rolls around you should have established yourself as an interested candidate. College admissions officers should be able to look at their records and see that you demonstrated interest. Some will remember your face, look back on your interview and be able to recall any conversations they had with you during the admissions process. You will trump anyone who hasn’t expressed interest and was simply a casual shopper.
Here’s how you can leverage specific social media accounts and use them to communicate with colleges:
When a college receives your application, admission officers look for ways to determine whether you will accept their offer of admission. Since all colleges have quotas to fill and determine their admission offers based on percentages of acceptance, showing interest lets them know you will likely accept their offer. As they see it, why offer admission to someone who isn’t interested when there is someone who is likely to accept?
How do you find the colleges that place a strong interest on this?
Which colleges want your student to show them some love? You don’t have to guess. You can use a tool like Collegedata.com to determine if a college uses demonstrated interest in its admission decision. The colleges are asked to rate 19 admission factors by using these four categories: very important, important, considered, and not considered. Each year, colleges are surveyed and this data is used to compile the information on its website.
To access the data, you simply search for the college, click on the Admissions tab, and scroll down to the Selection of Students heading. Then you can see the importance a college places on a student’s level of interest. Harvard, for example, lists this as “not considered.” In comparison, the United States Naval Academy, lists it as “very important.”
Social media makes it easier than ever to connect with colleges and admissions representatives because you don’t have to be on campus to make a connection.
According to Kaplan Test Prep’s annual survey of admissions officers, more than two-thirds of colleges (68 percent) say that it’s “fair game” for them to visit applicants’ social media profiles like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to help them decide who gets in — despite the fact that less than a third actually engage in the practice. Notably, students agree: a separate Kaplan survey of over 900 high school students finds that 70 percent consider social media profiles “fair game” for admissions officers evaluating applicants — an increase from 58 percent in 2014.
Admissions officers who say it’s “fair game” shared the following reasoning:
“Employers do it all the time. Colleges can do it as well.”
“I think if things are publicly accessible without undue intrusion, it’s OK. If it’s searchable, it’s fair game.”
“We don’t do this, but we could. I think high school seniors make poor choices sometimes when they put stuff online.”
Admissions officers who said they viewed this as an “invasion of privacy” shared the following:
“Their application should be the sole decider.”
“We use social media for recruitment, not admissions.”
“We only look at social media if the applicant includes or provides it.”
But while a strong majority of admissions officers are ideologically comfortable with this practice, only 29 percent say they have actually done it — a decline from 35 percent last year, and down from a 40 percent high watermark in Kaplan’s 2015 survey. But this isn’t because admissions officers are necessarily forbidden from doing it, as only 20 percent say that their school has official guidelines or policies; and of that 20 percent, only 33 percent are not permitted to do so.
“You cannot visit an applicant’s social media profile if you can’t locate them, and as one admissions officer shared with us, ‘Students are harder to find.’ They’ve gotten savvier in hiding or curating their social media footprints, even as they’ve become very comfortable with the notion of having a digital presence to begin with. By the same token, colleges have largely become comfortable, in theory, using social media to help them make admissions decisions,” said Alpher. “That said, in practice, the strong majority are sticking with the traditional elements of the application, like standardized test scores, GPA, letters of recommendation, and personal statements, which still overwhelmingly decide an applicant’s path. For most, these traditional factors provide enough useful information to make a decision, like it has for generations of their predecessors.”
And lest applicants think that what they post online can’t be held against them once they are already accepted, they should think again. Nearly one in 10 (nine percent) admissions officers say they had revoked an incoming student’s offer of admission because of what they found on social media. This finding comes on the heels of Harvard University’s decision last year to revoke the acceptances of at least 10 students for posting highly offensive memes on a private Facebook group for incoming freshmen.
Here’s a short video illustrating the survey results:
This has been an emotionally charged 2016 election process. Most of us are ready for all of it to be over—from the talking heads, to the vicious mud-slinging, to the hate speak on social media. But within every negative experience, there are always teaching moments for our children.
At some point, your student will be leaving home for college as an adult. Before she goes, use this election to discuss some key values in hopes she will take them with her. These values are more important than grades, essays, and college applications.
Don’t exaggerate, bloviate, or inflate
My how both candidates have ranted, yelled, name-called and gone on and on without saying anything relevant. We’ve heard lies from both sides and attempts to cover them up or minimize them. The lesson here is simple: speak the truth. Use your words to “say what you mean and mean what you say”.
Social media is a game changer
This election has been driven by social media. Tweets from both candidates and from Wikileaks, blasting one another on Facebook, posting videos, newspaper articles, and memes about each of the candidates. If you think no one pays attention to what you post, think again. This election was played out online this time and could very well be won or lost because of it.
The poor choices you make always have consequences
Each candidate has been embarrassed by some of the poor choices they made in the past. Their actions came back to haunt them. Their choices had consequences. This is perhaps the most important lesson to teach your college-bound teen—think before you act. Are you willing to accept the consequences of your actions?
Think before you post, tweet or email
Everything, and I mean everything, you put online will come back to haunt you. Social media is your resume and everyone is reading it—college admissions officers, future employers, family, and friends. Before you hit the “submit” button, consider the ramifications of what you are saying.
Respect has to be earned
The country has little respect for either candidate. This is an election where most people will tell you they are choosing the “lesser of two evils.” Respect is earned when you exhibit truthful, honest, moral behavior, kindness to others, and respect for authority. You have to earn respect by your actions.
And lastly, “decisions are made by those who show up”.
Harry Truman said, “Decisions are made by those who show up.” Teach your children that voting is a crucial freedom and they should exercise their right to vote in every election. And once the decision has been made, they can rest assured they did their part to express what they feel and believe.
HubSpot recently published their 2016 Social Media Conduct eBook based on a recent studies on social media conduct. The study focused on employers and their use of social media. This applies to college applicants as well, hoping to be admitted to a college or university based on their resume. The bad news for some, according to HubSpot, is “social media is your resume”.
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According to a survey by careerbuilder.com, 41% of employers say they are less likely to interview job candidates if they are unable to find information about that person online. Job seekers should think of social media as an integral piece of their resumes and each should use social media to establish and showcase his or her personal brand. Employers aren’t necessarily scanning your social media profiles to look for problems, they’re looking for insight into how you’re living your day to day life. Val Matta, vice president of business development at CareerShift, describes it like this:
“What candidates do in their spare time and broadcast to the world through social media speaks volumes about their personal values and culture. The hiring manager knows that, in hiring that person, they’ll likely bring those values and culture into the office. So it must align with, or contribute positively to, the organization’s current culture.”
There are some positive aspects to the trend of connecting social media to employment. According to Jobvite, one in three employers who research candidates on social media have found content that made them more likely to hire a candidate. And, 23% found content that directly led to hiring the candidate. The trick is, then, to not avoid social media, but to be on social media and be thoughtful about what you post.
Your social media profiles, or lack thereof, tell employers so much about you. JobVite found that 55% of recruiters have reconsidered candidates based on their social media profiles. 61% of those reconsiderations were negative. That means 39% were positive. Those who got a positive reconsideration likely put some care and consideration into their personal brand. Make sure you’re controlling your personal brand and building up your social media profiles so they tell your story the way you want it to be told.
In an article called “Watch Your Mouth on Social Media,” Scott Kleinberg, nationally syndicated columnist and the former social media editor at the Chicago Tribune, wrote:
“I read a story not too long ago where someone tired of being the subject of abusive Facebook comments reached out and complained to that person’s boss. The company subsequently fired the person.” How did that happen? Kleinberg explains: “Your place of employment shows up next to your name on a Facebook comment when a website uses the Facebook commenting plug-in. So if you’ve ever seen a story online and noticed the comments look like Facebook, that’s why. But even outside of the plug-in, hovering over your name or anyone else’s name on Facebook proper can reveal the same information.”
“Nine times out of 10, what you say is being read by a much wider audience and information about the person saying it is more widely shared than you’d ever imagine.”
A lot of employers and companies don’t really understand online behavior and many Facebook users aren’t getting hired as a result…Companies often scan a job applicant’s Facebook profile to see whether there is evidence of drug or alcohol use, believing that such behavior means the applicant is not ‘conscientious,’ or responsible and self-disciplined. However, the researchers found no significant correlation between conscientiousness and an individual’s willingness to post content on Facebook about alcohol or drug use. Will Stoughton, Ph.D. and lead author of the paper added, “This means companies are eliminating some conscientious job applicants based on erroneous assumptions regarding what social media behavior tells us about the applicants.”
Slang and Text Speak
The use of internet slang, texting language, poor grammar and misspellings is ubiquitous on social media and can signify poor communication skills. According to careerbuilder.com 29% of employers do not like to see posts that demonstrate poor communication skills.
Though 29% of employers are turned off by poor communication skills, the careerbuilder.com survey also found that 37% are more likely to hire a candidate whose social media profiles indicate great communication skills.
So, a serious job candidate who showcases his or her strong communication skills by submitting a professional resume undermines that effort when his or her social profiles are littered with internet slang, poor grammar, and misspellings.
It may not be a bad idea to keep up with trending internet slang words because today’s teenagers will soon be in charge. Gavin Hammar, CEO of Sendible.com, believes that “As this language becomes more allowed in educational settings, it will leave a lasting impact on the future generations. The young adults that are in high school right now are being directly affected by social media slang. These are the same people that will become the next business professionals, politicians and leaders of our world.”
Bottom line: if your student is applying to college and wants to be gainfully employed after graduation, it’s a good idea for them to “mind their manners” on social media.
The best thing about the internet is a wealth of information available at your fingertips for college prep. You can find college advice, testing help, college visit information, financial aid information and everything you need to know about individual colleges. But with every good thing, there are dangers lurking in the shadows. Researching college topics is good, other social media activities might not be as safe–what is your teen doing online?
My grandsons are already familiar with their parents’ smartphones. My 5 year old grandson can access games, turn Netflix on and off, and use Facetime on his own. My 2 year old grandson knows that the phone gets him access to cartoons anywhere, anytime. I can’t imagine what it will be like when they both become teenagers because it’s a very scary online world. If you don’t believe so, read this article from Smart College Visit: A Parent’s Greatest Fear.
The Liahona Academy did some real research about teen’s online activity on social media. Based on this information, if you aren’t taking an active role in your teen’s online life you are burying your head in the sand. Years ago teens snuck out of the house to engage in risky behavior. Today it’s easier than it has ever been with the use of a smartphone to hide online activity from parents.
If you don’t believe me, here are some sobering statistics from the above mentioned study:
55% of teens have given out personal info to someone they don’t know
29% of teens have been stalked or contacted by a stranger
29% of teens have participated in cyber bullying
24% of teens have had private or embarrassing info made public without permission
22% have been cyberpranked
and…
Only 34% of parents check their teen’s social network sites
Are those stats cause for concern? Based on these responses those stats should be:
67% of teenagers say they know how to hide what they do online from their parents
43% of teens say they would change their online behavior if they knew that their parents were watching them
39% think their online activity is private from everyone, including parents
20% of teens think their parents have no idea what they are doing online
18% have created a private email address or separate social networking profile
10% have unlocked parental controls to disable filtering
and…
38% would feel offended if they found out their parents were spying on them with parental controls
It’s time for parents to wake up. It’s no longer acceptable to ignore your teen’s online activity.. They may be the best behaved, best mannered and most respectful teenagers. But there is a world out there full of online predators waiting to pounce on naive teens who post on social media.
What social media tools are teens using?
Twitter
Facebook
Pinterst
Pheed
YouTube
Kik
4chan
Askfm
Vine
Tumblr
Snapchat
Instagram
For more information about each of these and how they pose a threat to your teenager, you can access the infographic here: What Your Teen is Doing on Social Media. The infographic also provides information on how to get involved, how to monitor online activity, how teens hide their browser activity from their parents, and most importantly, some monitoring tools for parents. Parents will also find 10 Online Activities Every Parent Needs to Talk About With Their Teens.
This is one of the most concise and helpful infographic I have seen informing parents about online activity and giving tools to help them monitor it. You wouldn’t allow a predator or stranger in your home, don’t let it happen on social media.
When my kids were little, Halloween was for them. They dressed up in costumes and went trick or treating door to door. My how times have changed. It’s become a family event. Parties are planned, events are scheduled for the kids, and parents get involved in the festivities. Dressing up is part of the fun and also a necessary component of the Halloween celebration.
When applying to colleges, “dressing up” for a college is more than fun–it’s necessary. What do I mean when I talk about dressing up for a college?
Show interest
Colleges want to know you are interested in attending. They don’t want to be just another name on your college list. They want to know that if you apply, and are offered admission, there is a good chance you will accept and attend. You can show interest by taking an official campus tour, connecting on social media, and meeting with admissions officer for an interview. Colleges keep track of how many times you have showed interest.
Market yourself
You’re basically saying “pick me” to the colleges. Although you are the consumer, the ball is in their court for the first phase of this process. Take every opportunity to market yourself to them. They want to know you and see what you have to offer their college community.
Make a positive impression on social media
Use all avenues of social media positively. Post pictures of your volunteer activities on Facebook and Instagram. Converse with colleges on Twitter. Set up a profile on LinkedIn and connect with colleges there. The key word here is POSITIVE.
Unlike Halloween, you do not want to wear a costume and pretend to be someone you are not. Colleges want to see the real you underneath the costume, not a version of a person you think they want to see.
You have buried your head in the sand if you don’t know the impact that social media has on your reputation. Just watch the news, and celebrities put their feet in their mouths daily on Twitter. The whole world is monitoring what they say. But who is watching what your teen says? Just about everyone these days: colleges, scholarship judges and committees, and future employers.
It’s not enough for your teen to bridle their keystrokes on Twitter or set their Facebook page to private. It stands to reason that if these entities are looking at social media, you should use it to your advantage and create a positive impression. Social media is a great place for scholarship applicants to document their volunteer activities.
Be authentic. Create a blog and write about your experiences. Post pictures on Instagram. Comment on Twitter and Facebook about what you are learning while volunteering. Use social media to showcase your interests, your activities and your learning experiences.
For some excellent tips on how to use social media to your advantage, read:
Your teen may not be a celebrity, but he is being watched by people who are interested in knowing more about him. Don’t let your teen have one of those “uh-oh” moments like Gilbert Gottfried did a few years ago:
Today, teaching your teens to respect themselves online is just as important as any other life lesson and when college is on the horizon, it is more essential than ever. Gone are the simple nuggets of advice which our parents put so much weight on; now it takes a steadfast determination to somehow get across what many teens think they already know.
Teaching the potential pitfalls of social media communication requires determination, cleverness, reverse psychology, and, if need be, tough love.
Watch the Traps
Social media strips away the ability to tune into someone’s social clues. Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair, a clinical psychologist and author of The Big Disconnect comments,
“In a way, texting and online communicating puts everybody in a nonverbal disabled context, where body language, facial expression, and even the smallest kinds of vocal reactions are rendered invisible.”
Because of this, there are many possible pitfalls your teen can fall into without them even knowing it. These pitfalls can manifest into adversely affecting their self-esteem, confidence, and overall self-respect. Some of these to watch for and discuss include:
Impostor Syndrome – Because image is so important to teens, it isn’t uncommon for them to create faux and/or multiple online personas. Talk with them about true identity and online identity, being sure to make them think about the difference between the two.
Stalking – It’s easy to annoy people online, but not only can it rapidly degenerate one’s reputation it can, in extreme cases, like cyber bullying, turn illegal. In addition, the hyper connection that kids have been living with could turn them into a recluse during college. Practice digital breaks and discuss how digitally harassing someone only creates unnecessary anxiety for both parties.
The Record – Sexting, private pictures/videos, and dangerous language are only a few of the traps that teens can slip into, especially once on their own at school. If your child doesn’t already know that every single thing they do on their computer is recorded, they should be told. Nothing can be deleted without a professional IT swipe and if something is emailed or texted, it is out there forever. A bad online decision, for any reason, can throw a teen into such a depressing funk that gaining back their self-respect may be a real uphill battle.
Helpful Apps
Thankfully, the digital universe is not all that bad and when it comes to teaching your teens to respect themselves online, a variety of available apps may help. Before they head to college, offer to buy or download apps that address:
Fitness– The “freshman fifteen” is a common term tossed around college campuses, but it needn’t apply to your child. There are great apps to track daily fitness and help your child maintain their weight and inevitably their self-respect.
Affirmations – A daily pop up quoting a positive affirmation may be just what your teen needs during the trials and tribulations of college life.
Life Coach– Yes, there are digital life coach apps that can assist your child with life problems they may not want to discuss with you.
Books – They’re still around, just not the tangible kind. Send them off with a downloaded book or two that you feel may help them keep their chin up.
Stay Connected
Stay connected, not with a device but with your heart. As cliché as that may sound, the Child Mind Institute describes some good habits to boost your teens digital self-respect,
“Establish technology-free zones in the house and technology-free hours when no one uses the phone, including mom and dad.”
Dr. Steiner-Adair advises,
“Give them your full attention until they’re out the door. And neither of you should be using phones in the car to or from school because that’s an important time to talk.”
Keep teaching your teens to respect themselves online and once they start college they’ll hopefully have a good foundation to beth them through unscathed.
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Today’s guest post is from Tara Heath, a journalist in Southern California. As a mom of two teens, college is on the horizon and she is constantly looking for ways to teach her kids the importance of using the internet and social media wisely.
You have buried your head in the sand if you don’t know the impact that social media has on your reputation. Just watch the news, and celebrities put their feet in their mouths daily on Twitter. The whole world is monitoring what they say. But who is watching what your teen says? Just about everyone these days: colleges, scholarship judges and committees, and future employers.
