ISFAA High School Counselors Workshops ISFAA High School Counselors Workshops Financial Aid and Social Media

2 Students Use Social Media For College Choice Survey of 7,000 HS Students 68% Use Social Media to research schools 38% have used Social Media as a resource when deciding to enroll 55% used Facebook to review a school’s background 45% have been influenced by a schools engagement on Social Media platform

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4 Web Profiles Matter According to an annual survey of 500 of the nation’s top colleges about a quarter of admissions offices have used websites such as Facebook to vet applicants One third of those schools say they have found something that hurt a student’s chance of admission (up from 12% last year) 15% of the schools surveyed had an official policy More than 2/3rds of those schools won’t use the technique Of those schools without a policy more than a quarter say they have checked out a student’s online persona

5 Web Profiles Matter

6 Evaluation of Scholarship Applicants Survey of 300 National Scholarship Providers Association (NSPA) members (Members award more than $1 billion annually) About a quarter of scholarship providers use web searches and social media to search for online information about scholarship applicants Most scholarship providers only screen finalists Three quarters of the scholarship providers who reviewed an applicant’s online presence were looking for one or more red flags, mostly for signs that the scholarship applicant might reflect badly on the scholarship sponsor.

7 Evaluation of Scholarship Applicants More than half of the scholarship providers review an applicant’s online presence to get to know the applicant better, to look for creativity and other positive personality traits or to evaluate real life communication skills. A third of scholarship providers who reviewed an applicant’s online presence have denied an applicant a scholarship and a quarter have granted an applicant a scholarship because of information they found out about them online. Of the scholarship providers who use social media web sites to screen applicants, almost all (92%) use Facebook and a quarter use LinkedIn or YouTube. Less than a tenth (8%) use Twitter

8 Evaluation of Scholarship Applicants When reviewing a scholarship applicant’s online presence, the scholarship providers look for the following information: To determine whether the applicant demonstrates good judgment (58%) Provocative or inappropriate photographs or remarks (58%) Illegal activities, such as underage drinking and use of narcotics (50%) To get to know the applicant better (42%) Insensitive or discriminatory remarks (42%) Negative attitude (42%) To look for creativity and other positive personality traits (25%) Lies about qualifications listed on application (25%) To evaluate real-life communication skills (17%) Of the scholarship providers who review an applicant’s online presence, three quarters were looking for negative information and more than half were looking for positive information.

9 Evaluation of Scholarship Applicants A third of scholarship providers who screen the online presence of scholarship applicants have denied an applicant a scholarship because of information they found out about them Online A quarter of scholarship providers who screen the online presence of scholarship applicants have selected an applicant because of information they found out about them online.

10 Using Social Media to Find Scholarships Create a professional Online Presence Use an appropriate address, such as Do not use offensive or sexually suggestive addresses. Google your name and review at least the first ten pages of search results for inappropriate material. Correct any problems, if possible. Review your Facebook account, removing inappropriate and immature material and anything that may be misinterpreted. Remove pictures or videos that show illegal or questionable behavior. Avoid using profanity. Delete questionable posts by others on your wall. Ask an adult, such as a parent, to review your Facebook page to help you identify problematic material. Think twice before posting anything offensive, illegal or otherwise inappropriate. Ask your social network for leads You ask about scholarships in person, why not o nline?

11 Using Social Media to Find Scholarships Use Twitter Search search.twitter.com / search.twitter.com / “Scholarship” “Scholarship” and “Deadline” or “Application” Try adding “www” or “http” for links Or “PDF” to find the application Follow and Like Scholarship Providers Watch for posts/tweets about scholarship applications Be Engaging and Personal Communicate with Scholarship Providers Don’t forget a thank you card and post/tweet

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13 Twitter Leads to Loans

14 College Goal indianacollegegoalsunday

15 Examples

16 Questions?