You might want to think twice before uploading those pictures from last weekend to Facebook.
According to a recent annual survey of college and university admission officers, higher education institutions are increasingly using social media profiles to review prospective students.
The survey, released by Kaplan Test Prep last week, found that 35 percent of admissions officers discovered information via Google or Facebook that damaged prospective students’ chances of acceptance — up from 12 percent last year.
Kaplan surveyed 350 admissions officers from the nation’s top 500 colleges and universities. According to the survey, 27 percent of admissions officers use Google while 26 percent use Facebook to review applicants.
UNC’s undergraduate admissions office does not use social media to review prospective students because of the sheer number of applicants, said Barbara Polk, senior associate director of undergraduate admissions.
Each application undergoes a minimum of two reviews while 40 percent undergo three or more reviews, she said.
“We have not even talked about looking at it as an official process,” she said. “Might that change in 10 years or five years? It’s possible.”
While UNC admissions officers don’t turn to social media for evaluating applicants, the office occasionally receives photos of recently admitted students in compromising situations. Every spring, the office receives three to five packages with such photos from anonymous sources, she said.
“Maybe it’s from another student who was in a jealous rivalry,” Polk said.