HAVING A POSITIVE ONLINE PRESENCE isn’t just about avoiding posts that might be detrimental to your chances of getting into your dream college. With some admissions officials using online searches to get a more holistic impression of applicants, it’s up to you to mold your digital persona. Here are some ways you can enhance your social footprint.
CREATE A YOUTUBE CHANNEL
If you’re an athlete, musician or performer, video trumps photos when it comes to showing off your talents. You can showcase a collection of videos by creating a YouTube channel of your own. You can then provide a link to the videos with your application.
CREATE AN ONLINE PORTFOLIO
Whether it’s your own website or blog, or popular social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest, an online portfolio can hint of your interests (e.g., nature photography, poetry, movie reviews, multimedia sculptures, humorous essays) and talents.
SUPPLEMENT YOUR APPLICATION
If you feel as though your college application barely touched on your volunteer work at the children’s hospital or the depth of your love for animals, use social media as a support platform. Post photos of you riding a horse or grooming a dog at the Humane Society fundraiser. Tweet about social issues that are important to you. Post vegan recipes to Pinterest. Even the news stories (including any featuring you in your local paper) that you share can tell a lot about who you are.
SHOW THEM WHO MATTERS
You shook hands and took a selfie with your heroine, Elizabeth Warren? Proudly post the photo with a detailed caption. Your basketball coach has been a major influence on your life? Acknowledge it in a post to show gratitude. Is your relative serving in the military? Tweet your support.
DEMONSTRATE YOUR INTEREST
If you haven’t already done so, be sure to connect with your potential schools online. This could mean liking them on Facebook, following them on Twitter, repinning the school’s Pinterest pins or following the Facebook page or Twitter account of professors in your field of interest. You also can ask questions on the schools’ Facebook pages (e.g., “Do you have any reps in my area?” or “When is your next Open House event?”)
SHOW THEM WHERE YOU’VE BEEN
Photos of your class trip to Paris, summer spent working on your uncle’s farm or month-long internship at the PR agency speak volumes about who you are. But it also can’t hurt to post photos from your college tours with fun captions. (e.g., “This statue at Barnard is much bigger in person!” or “The cafeteria at NYU is NY-Yum!”)
If you consider your online presence to be an extension of your application, you’ll have no problem figuring out what’s worthy of sharing. And since anything you post could be a tipping point, make it count!
