Kaplan Survey: College Admissions Officers Think It’s OK to Visit Applicants’ Social Media, But Most Don’t

Kaplan’s 2023 college admissions officers survey shows that 67 percent believe that checking out applicants’ social media posts on apps like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X, and Threads to learn more about them is “fair game” to help them make decisions about who gets in, but just 28 percent say they’ve actually done it*. While that 28 percent nearly matches what it was in Kaplan’s survey five years ago, the “fair game” POV has jumped significantly from 57 percent in the same time frame. Taking the contrarian view, 33 percent of admissions officers consider viewing applicants’ social media “an invasion of privacy and shouldn’t be done,” according to the 2023 survey.

“Kaplan has been tracking the role of social media in the college admissions process since 2008 and it’s long struck us that there’s a wide disconnect between the percentage of admissions officers who say they’ve visited applicants’ profiles and separately, those who say it’s within their rights to do so. While many consider it to be an invasion of privacy, others say they just don’t have time to do it, while still others tell us that they get all they need by evaluating prospective students on the traditional admissions factors like GPA, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, admissions essays, and extracurriculars,” said Christine Lilley, executive director of college admissions programs, Kaplan. “Our research additionally shows that when admissions officers do visit applicants’ social media pages that they are much likelier to find something that negatively impacts their chances of getting in than helping them.”

Top of mind for many admissions officers going into this next application cycle is the new digital SAT®, set to launch this March, Kaplan found in conversations as part of its survey.

Kaplan’s survey results come on the heels of a recently released Gallup study showing that a majority of U.S. teenagers (51%) report spending at least four hours per day using a variety of social media apps.

To schedule an interview about the survey results, contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com.

*Admissions officers from 205 of the nation’s top national, regional, and liberal arts colleges and universities – as compiled by U.S. News & World Report – were polled by e-mail and phone between August and December 2023.

SAT® is a registered trademark of the College Board, which is not affiliated with Kaplan.

About Kaplan

Kaplan, Inc. is a global educational services company that helps individuals and institutions advance their goals in an ever-changing world. Our broad portfolio of solutions help students and professionals further their education and careers, universities and educational institutions attract and support students, and businesses maximize employee recruitment, retainment, and development. Stanley Kaplan founded our company in 1938 with a mission to expand educational opportunities for students of all backgrounds. Today, our thousands of employees working in 26 countries continue Stanley’s mission as they serve about 1.2 million students and professionals, 13,000 corporate clients, and 4,000 schools, school districts, colleges, and universities worldwide. Kaplan is a subsidiary of the Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC). Learn more at kaplan.com.

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Kaplan’s 2023 college admissions officers survey shows that 67 percent believe that checking out applicants’ social media posts on apps like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X, and Threads is “fair game” to help them decide who gets in​.