10 Percent of Colleges Check Applicants' Social Profiles

theodp writes "Confirming paranoid high-schoolers' fears, a new Kaplan survey reveals that 10% of admissions officers from prestigious schools said they had peeked at sites like Facebook and MySpace to evaluate college-bound seniors. Of those using the profiles, 38% said it had a 'negative impact' on the applicant. 'Today's application is not just what you send ... but whatever they can Google about you,' said Kaplan's Jeff Olson. At Notre Dame, assistant provost for enrollment Dan Saracino said he and his staff sometimes come across candidates portraying themselves in a less-than-flattering light. 'It's typically inappropriate photos — like holding up a can of beer at a party,' Saracino said. On the other hand, using the Internet to vet someone's character seems overly intrusive to Northwestern's Christopher Watson. 'We consider Facebook and MySpace their personal space,' the dean of undergraduate admissions said. 'It would feel somewhat like an invasion of privacy.'" We recently discussed similar practices from prospective employers.

Breaking news!

[Cheza]

In other news... The earth is still round.

Saving the morality of our higher institutions

[Puff of Logic]

This is a completely legitimate practice. After all, if we don't catch people holding up cans of beer at a party before they are admitted, why, they'll be doing it at colleges around the country next before you know it!

Beer

[halcyon1234]

'It's typically inappropriate photos -- like holding up a can of beer at a party,' Saracino said.

... "Because," Saracino continues, "Beer is not the sort of thing people drink at college."

Re:Beer

[CodeBuster]

Beer is not the sort of thing people drink at college.

Says the college administrator while he pours himself a scotch from the bottle on the bookshelf...

Re:The public internet is not private or personal

[KDR_11k]

Punch him in the face?

Re:School and work are not one-dimensional

[Yetihehe]

Doesn't your personality and ability to fit in with others have anything to do with how well you'll do on a job?

Yes. If someone does not have photos at party, it means he doesn't fit with others well.

Re:The public internet is not private or personal

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course you take responsibility...then punch him in the face.

Re:The public internet is not private or personal

[cayenne8]

"This is the atmosphere that leads to keg stands and binge drinking, drunk driving..."

Ahhh......the good old days!!

Re:Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

[Indagator]

Riiiight. Because nobody who has had a picture taken holding a can of beer could possibly benefit from a higher education, or be a net positive for society.

I would say that it betrays a serious lack of judgement.

Specifically, everyone knows that American beers that come in cans are shit. If the prospective student can't even discern that, how can you expect them to perform in rigorous courses?

Exactly

[dmsuperman]

This is exactly why I, Bob Taylor, would never associate my online handle with my real name. Because then I, Bob Taylor, would be susceptible to this sort of profiling.

Re:The public internet is not private or personal

[xenocide2]

And in some cases, drunk cycling!

Re:The public internet is not private or personal

[BForrester]

And Lord help you if you ever wanted to get into politics later in life, that stuff will last forever, and can and will be dug up to be used against you.

Heaven help is if a beer-guzzling, pot-smoking, tail-chasing, draft-dodging dumbass ever got into political office, much less the presidency. That would be the end of the world as we know it.