By Juan Carlos Ramirez ’18
THE ROUNDUP

Social media is a tool that has given students exposure to current news and information, but it has also given colleges the opportunity to further their research on their applicants.

The traditional college application has always incorporated the student’s GPA, test scores, extracurricular activities, recommendation letters and essays.

According to a USA Today article, a study shows that there has been a new factor in the college application process: social media.

Social media such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook gives students the opportunity to interact with each other, but it also leaves a vulnerability.

Social media accounts can easily be seen if left public.

Knowing how social media is very public, I believe that it can be positive if used correctly and could pose as a positive impression on colleges.

The USA Today article states that colleges who visit applicant’s social media accounts has quadrupled to 40 percent since 2008.

This is a positive shift for colleges because I believe that we are at a point where students can express themselves most thoroughly through their social media accounts.

A student can give a certain impression during the interviews or essays, but the more important image is how he or she will perceive themselves as a student of the respective college to the world.

Some students could say that this is an invasion of privacy, and the idea of an admissions counselor scouring their posts might make them nervous. But a social media account is open for the public eye.

Students should take the opportunity of social to express themselves in a manner that stays true to themselves.

Colleges should keep this trend of social media requisite and should, in the future, require social media accounts be listed in their college application process.