Student Digital Footprint: Before College Applications
Most applications are decided on grades and essays. A small share of admissions officers also look online, so it pays to see what they would see.
By Siddharth ShankarUpdated October 11, 2026In Kaplan's 2023 survey of 205 admissions officers, 28 percent said they had visited an applicant's social media pages. That is a minority, but a search on your name is quick and the results are often permanent. Students can review search results, set accounts to private, remove old posts and think about the username and photo attached to each account before submitting applications.
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Applying to college means handing over your name, which makes it easy for anyone to type it into a search box. Most admissions decisions rest on grades, essays, activities and recommendations. But the internet makes a quick look possible, and it is worth knowing what is there.
What the survey found
Kaplan surveyed 205 college admissions officers between August and December 2023. Twenty-eight percent said they had visited an applicant's social media pages. That means most had not, and the figure does not tell us how often it affected a decision. It does show that checking is a real possibility, which is enough reason for a short review.
What a reader might find
Think about the places your name or username can appear:
- Public social media profiles and photos
- Comments on videos, games and forums
- Results from school sports, clubs and competitions
- News items about events you took part in
- Old accounts you stopped using years ago
Searching by username matters as much as by name, because many students use the same handle across sites. See how to find your old social media accounts.
A step-by-step review
1Search your name in a private window
Try your full name, your name with your school, and your name with your city. Look at the first two pages of results.
2Check every account's privacy setting
Make accounts private where you can, and review who can tag you or see your friends list.
3Remove old or embarrassing posts
Delete or archive anything you would not want a stranger to judge. Archiving is often enough.
4Review usernames and profile photos
Public handles and profile images are visible even when posts are private. Choose ones you are comfortable showing.
5Look for old accounts
Search your email address and common handles. Close accounts you no longer use. The guide to finding old accounts lists methods.
6Add something positive
A simple, accurate profile that lists real achievements gives a reader something good to find. A portfolio or a school project page is an example.
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What not to do
Do not delete everything in a panic. Removing a lot at once can look odd and does not erase copies others made. Do not create fake accounts to hide a real one either. The aim is to be intentional, not invisible.
Applications are not the only reader
Scholarship committees, coaches, future employers and internship programs may also search your name. Review once before each important application. Our guide on checking your online presence before applying for a job uses the same method for later stages.
Parents and students together
Families can work through this together. Parents can check what they have posted about a student, such as old photos or tagged posts, and ask for changes. See children and teens: a parent's guide for the family side.
Social media is only one place
Admissions readers are not limited to social platforms. Sports results pages, club rosters, competition listings and school newsletters can all show your name next to a photo or a result. Most of that is positive and worth keeping. If something is out of date or reveals more than you would like, such as a home address in a team list, ask the organizer to change it. Do this before applications go out, since pages take time to update and search engines take longer still to refresh what they show.
Sources
- Kaplan: survey of college admissions officers on applicant social media (205 officers, August to December 2023, 28 percent)
Frequently asked questions
Do colleges really look at social media?
Kaplan's 2023 survey of 205 admissions officers found that 28 percent had visited an applicant's social media pages, so some do and most do not.
Should I delete my accounts before applying?
Not necessarily. Review them, make them private if you want and remove anything you would not want a stranger to see.
Does a private account hide my name from search?
Not entirely. Your name, username and profile photo may still be visible, depending on the platform.
What if something negative appears under my name?
Try asking the site to remove it, and see how to remove personal information from Google Search for search results.
Can I use a different name online?
A separate handle for hobbies is fine. Use an accurate, professional profile for the accounts you want admissions readers to find.
See if your email has already leaked
- Checks your email against known data breaches
- Shows which sites leaked it, when, and what leaked
- We do not store the email you check
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