This is the time of year when students are receiving their school grades and trying to get their places in university.  But for many, those attempts will end in failure with a rejection letter coming in the mail.  You may get a reason for the rejection or you may not.  But there are certainly some things you can do to reduce the possibility of it happening next time you apply.  In short, get your online search results in order.

Yes, that’s right. Colleges and admissions officers use the Internet too, and if they are trying to decide between you and someone else, seeing pictures and / or videos of you online getting drunk, smoking a joint and loudly proclaiming “tell you what, let’s jaywalk down the street with no clothes on!” is not going to get you very far.  In fact, watching you get legless, the admissions officer is probably already writing that rejection letter.

So what to do?  Don’t despair. Here’s the Master Plan.  One, delete all incriminating evidence from social networks and websites. Two, turn your website (if you have one – and you really should) into a shining beacon of why you are God’s brightest angel on Earth. And three, send a Facebook friend request to all the admissions officers for all the colleges you are planning to apply to.  That way, you can use the social network to communicate with the college and start to create a good impression.

Let us know in the comments what you think of the infographic below. Do you agree that university / college applications are increasingly being decided by social media? Was yours?

Infographic Source: OnlineColleges.net
Image Source: Stern Warning via Shutterstock