Our goal at EAGLE 7 is to provide parents and students with opportunities to thrive. This includes identifying innovative scholarships and grants that make secondary education a real possibility, instead of just a dream. Part of helping a student prepare is ensuring they understand the consequences of what they post to social media, for example, how your pictures and posts may keep you from securing a scholarship or even acceptance to a college.
How A Few Seconds Could Ruin Your Life
Many students spend little time composing their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter posts. While a student might not think twice about the “funny” photo, snarky quote card, sexy selfie, or downright inappropriate post, once it’s live, college admissions officers, recruiters, and coaches can view it. This includes photos and posts that friends share on their wall. Aside from your application, essay, or athletic stats, over 30% of admissions officers and over 80% of coaches will check your social media presence. This number will do nothing but continue to grow. They intend to learn more about a student’s character and how they will represent their team or school. One careless post could keep you from getting into college.
Google Your Student And Cleanup Their Online Presence
The good news is, parents can Google their student in search of what comes up and take an in-depth review of their online presence. This is something that should be performed by a discerning adult, who can balance the difference between fun and age-appropriate photos and posts and damaging photos and posts. A student can express their opinions and share their personality, but posts that are highly controversial and offensive must be removed. Once cleaned up, parents must keep a close eye on future posts.
You Might Not Even Know Why They Were Disqualified
Parents and students must remember it is unlikely that an admissions officer, recruiter, or coach will take the time to let them know social media activity is the reason for disqualification. This means you must be proactive.
While the information above is helpful, the 13-minute podcast below provides far more detail on the magnitude of social media and scholarships and admissions. The podcast is provided by our partner in progress, DigitalParentPodcast.com, who provides parents with a wealth of empowering information.