Teens use social media sites to choose a college
Teens spent how much time on social networking sites?
Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace have often gotten a bad rap from educators as time-wasters. In April 2009 alone, Nielson Online estimated that teens spent 21 million minutes on sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter-the equivalent of 40 years’ time! However, not all of this time is “wasted”. Social media tools have many valuable uses, from tracking breaking news to connecting with support groups. And given that college is one of teens’ top concerns, it should come as no surprise that social media is also changing the way that teens conduct their college search.
Students using social media for the college search.
Students are using social media sites to read peer reviews of college campuses, chat about college admissions questions with fellow applicants and experts alike, and get an inside peek into college life. This trend in social media is so popular that not only applicants, but college admissions departments are hopping on the bandwagon. A recent study by the National Association for College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) reports that over half of colleges use social media in the admissions and recruitment process.
Admissions Officers do it, too.
With admissions officers using social media to inform prospective students (and seek out the dirt on applicants), social media use is no longer just-for-teens. Ready to meet teens where they hang out online, colleges are building their own social-media presence. Students now have the opportunity to search colleges’ blogs, videos, and even their Twitter feed. Even so, doing all this online research one school at a time is a daunting prospect.
That’s why sites like social media mash-ups for college are gaining popularity. These sites combine student reviews, videos, and blogs into a single page, providing a much-needed window into a college’s presence on the web. CampusCompare is harnessing the power of social media with the College Current—a feature that shows multi-media results for every U.S. School, including video, pictures and student reviews, plus the real-time Twitter conversation going on about that college.
Tap into the experience of millions.
The College Current provides teens with more than the quantitative stats and rankings for colleges. It aggregates the impressions of millions of real students into a single page. Teens can finally have access to a well-rounded picture of their dream school from a variety of sources and tap into the collective wisdom in a way not possible through college visits or static guidebooks.
As the role of social media sites continues to grow in college admissions, and teens continue to spend more and more of their time on social media websites, the question becomes not “whether” but “which” social media teens should use in their college search.
Want an example of the College Current? Check out Arizona State.
Comments? Questions? Tell us how your school is using social media in the comments below.
This entry was posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 2:01 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
