In light of the recent spate of articles and blogs about Tufts University welcoming student videos as part of a student's college application, I want to share with my readers the advice I give the students I work with about using the Internet:
- Students should set up a separate e-mail account for the college admission process, so important information is not lost among regular e-mail. The e-mail address should be some form of the student's name; it should not be funny, cute or off-color. Students should make a folder for each college they are applying to and put all e-mails in the appropriate folder.
- Posting too much personal information, off-color comments or anything else you would not want college admission officers to see on blogs or away messages may come back to haunt you.
- Blogs and other Internet postings can be fun and interesting, but remember that what someone posts may be viewed by anyone and everyone. "If you can't say anything nice about a person, don't say anything at all" is an old, but very good rule that is quite applicable to the Internet - on web pages, blogs, e-mail, videos and IM.
- Students, and others, should reread their blog or video script a second, and even a third time to make sure they feel comfortable sharing everything they posted with the world. Admission counselors, and, later, potential employers may examine these posts. Information that is posted on the Internet becomes public information about the person posting. Be aware that even postings that have been removed may be viewable at later dates by savvy Internet users. If you are not sure, do not post it.
- Sometimes when students contact admission counselors through the college's blog and/or message boards, the information may become part of the formal correspondence and it may be factored into the admission decision.
Thomas D. Reason, Associate Director of Admissions at the University of Wisconsin - Madison said, "neither my staff nor I have the time to Google or Facebook every application. By the same token, if something ends up in 'My Face' it would be hard to ignore."
Marilyn Emerson, MSW, CEP
