6 Ways to Use Social Media to Get Accepted to College (and What to Avoid so you Don't Get Rejected)
1. 6 Ways to Use Social Media
to Get Accepted to College
(And what to avoid so you don’t get rejected)
Dean Tsouvalas
StudentAdvisor.com
May 3, 2012
2. Agenda
•Introductions
•Define Social Media
•6 Ways to Use Social Media to get Accepted
•Schools using Social Media to connect to
Students & parents
•What to avoid on Social Media so you don’t
get rejected
•Questions
3. Who We Are
Dean Tsouvalas is a former award-winning TV Producer of 20/20
and PrimetimeLive, Educator, and Social Media Technologist.
StudentAdvisor.com, a Washington Post Company, is the leading
“all things college” resource for students of all ages to find the
colleges that best fit their goals and needs. StudentAdvisor.com
offers free access to trusted college conversations, college
reviews, college comparison and match tools, planning guides, a
social network of verified advisors and more.
StudentAdvisor.com is a proud member of the National
Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).
4. Social Media is
revolutionizing the
way students
engage with
colleges.
For the past 2 yrs
the SA team has
been tracking
colleges social
media engagement.
This this is the only
scientifically sound
ranking – it is not an
opinion list.
20. UMass Dartmouth
Social Media & College Admissions Study
• Sixty-one percent of the respondents in 2007-
2008 reported they used at least one form of
social media.
• One year later, 85% of college admissions offices
were using at least one form of social media.
• In 2009-2010 that number rose to 95% and
• In the latest study, 100% of colleges and
universities studied are using some form of
social media.
21. Follow colleges on social media to:
• Learn about campus life
• Read up on current events at the school
• Ask questions directly to admissions
counselors
• Take “virtual tours”
• Discover what makes each college unique
• Figure out if it’s the right “fit”
22. 1. Get to know the School on Facebook
• “Like” the official Facebook
page
• Learn about the
conversations that matter
• See the events on campus
• Parents keep up to date
with calendar
Incorporate this info in the
application!!!
(Essays and interviews)
23. Facebook
• Morehouse hosts “Morehouse
Mondays,” where admitted students
can talk to university staff by posting
questions on the Facebook wall.
• Oberlin has a Facebook fan page
called “Oberlin Hopefuls” for high
school students just thinking of
attending.
• Four Saint Mary's College first-year
students, felt like they knew each
other when they moved into their
room at Regina Hall. They actually
first met "virtually" on the Saint
Mary's Class of 2015 Facebook page
and decided to become roommates.
24. 2. Search for a School on Twitter
• Follow your
prospective school
• Find out what
issues matter –
sport
scores, campus
beautification, rese
arch findings
• Learn what issues
are important to
you
• Learn Hashtags#
25. Twitter
• Emerson College has made
social media integral to their
education and has all of Boston
using the #ESM hashtag
whenever they want to talk to
anyone at Emerson about social
media.
• Williams College uses the
#Williams2016 hashtag to create
a social community of accepted
students.
• Macalester congratulates and
connects with every student
who tweets that they were
accepted to their university.
26. 3. Video made the college star
Stand out from the crowd – make a video application
• Why you want to go to the school
• Extracurricular activities
• Additional recommendations
27. YouTube
• Watch a Class
• Search for videos on
student activity groups
to learn what they are
like
• The Pratt Institute
allows anyone,
including prospective
students, to watch
guest lectures and
classes
28. 4. Google+, Pintrest, or Flickr Your Way In
Learn about a school or
Show off your:
• Writing skills
• Highlight your
volunteerism
• Creative Side
• Athletic Talent The Common Application and
Universal College Application both
provide a space where students can
link to a site!
29. Pinterest
• Marquette uses Pinterest
to give prospective
students a
comprehensive picture of
what life is like
• Texas A&M suggests
school-themed
decorations for incoming
students’ rooms.
• Arizona State has an
entire pinboard dedicated
to engaging prospective
students.
30. Google+
• Duke uses Google+ to host
“hangouts,” or video chats,
with prospective and accepted
students. If you have a
question about life at Duke,
you can post it in the chat and
a real admissions professional
will answer live.
• Many colleges, including Yale,
Northeastern and University of
Michigan use Google e-mail
addresses, which means all
students and faculty already
have accounts on Google+.
31. Flickr
• Vanderbilt gives
prospective students an
idea of what student life
is like with their “365”
project which posts a
different picture of
something at Vanderbilt
each day.
• Gettysburg College posts
photos of their
orientation so students
can have an idea of what
their programs will entail.
32. 5. Discover Student Bloggers
• A blog is a fantastic
platform to learn directly
from a student’s point of
view.
• John’s Hopkins has over
25 different student
bloggers. These blogs are
not edited by the
admissions office.
• OCU is one of the few
schools to give parents of
students their own blogs.
33. Tumblr
• University of Chicago has an
Admissions Tumblr where they
post pictures and videos of
student life on campus and
take questions from
prospective applicants.
• Florida International University
answers dozens of anonymous
questions via Tumblr from
students and prospective
students.
• University of Delaware uses
Tumblr for student bloggers to
connect with prospective
students.
34. 6. It’s Cool to be Square
Impromptu college tours – use Foursquare
• When on a
campus tour
• Or if you visit
during a break
leverage your
Smartphone
for inside
information
35. Foursquare
• Harvard uses Foursquare
to help visitors see
campus. They have tips
on every major building
and location – and 62
thousand followers!
• University of Oregon uses
Foursquare so
prospective students can
give self-guided tours of
campus.
38. 1. Don’t ASK to be Googled
• Use an appropriate E-mail Address
Would you want admission officers to contact you at
sexykitten@example.com? An email account like that begs the
admissions officer to Google you.
• The admissions decision process begins before you even apply.
This is the beginning of branding yourself. You can even create
an email account that is only for college applications.
• Always put your most professional self forward; when in doubt,
use an email format such as firstnamelastname@example.com
• Avoid having inappropriate user names: i.e. – BabyDollKitten4
39. 2. Use Social Media RESPONSIBLY
• Students need to
understand: If it’s online
ANYONE can find it
• Students should keep ALL
posts “Grandma friendly”:
Foul language and indecent
pictures should be avoided
entirely.
40. 3. Privacy Please
It’s been said before, but can’t be said enough
– if you put it online, anyone can find it
1. On Facebook, visit “privacy settings”
by clicking on “account” and set
privacy settings at the highest level
you’re comfortable.
2. On Twitter, visit the “edit my profile”
page (on the “profile page” tab), and
make sure that “protect my Tweets”
is selected. You’ll have to manually
approve anyone that wants to view
your Tweets.
3. On YouTube, make any videos that
you wouldn’t want everyone to see
“private” when you upload them.
43. Free Registration Personalizes the College Search
• You don’t have to sign up to use
most features, however registration
greatly customizes the college search
and lets students participate.
Registration is completely free for
both students and parents.
• Things users can do after they
register: Save compares, ask
questions, participate in groups, get
additional recommendations and
more!
• Easily track the latest reviews and
questions about their top choice
colleges.
• Connect with Verified Advisors.
44. College Match Tool
Discover colleges based on
over 600,000 data points:
• Degree type
• Major
• Test Scores
• Location
• Campus Setting
• Size of Student Body
• Tuition and Fees Budget
45. College Compare Tool
• Compare data for up to 5
colleges side-by-side.
• Easily access Verified
Advisors and student
reviews.
• Save & download compared
schools to track new
questions and reviews
(registered uses only)
46. College Reviews
• Students and parents want to know: “is
this school worth the money?”
• StudentAdvisor has reviews for
thousands of schools from students &
alumni.
• Students don’t always trust
information written the college’s
website. Reviewers give honest insight
on student life, campus safety, financial
aid satisfaction, and more.
• Admissions stats tell students
if they can get in. Reviews
tell students if they can fit in.
Hinweis der Redaktion
That’s 19x the amount of images at the Library of Congress