Facebook no factor in most UNC-system admissions

For several years now, high school seniors applying to universities haven’t just had to worry about perfecting their college essays and transcript, but also editing their Facebook profiles and security settings.

Admission officers at some universities such as N.C. State University said they are using social networking sites to further evaluate prospective students.

But the nationwide trend doesn’t seem to have caught on at public schools around the state. Admissions officials at UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Wilmington, Appalachian State University, N.C. Central University, UNC-Greensboro and UNC-Charlotte said they do not use Facebook to assess applicants.

Thomas Griffin, director of undergraduate admissions at NCSU, said they use Facebook if there is a query about an applicant.

But with an applicant pool of 24,000, it’s not done for everybody. Admission decisions are not solely based off of one factor, Griffin said.

“Decisions are holistic in nature. We would look at all pieces of information,” he said. “There is not one element that determines the decisions.”

If an admissions officer sees a discrepancy with the application, they will refer to Facebook to further research that applicant.

But Ashley Memory, assistant director of admissions at UNC, said institutions can make an accurate judgment on a prospective student based upon their application and supplemental material.

 “At Carolina, we do not rely on social networks such as Facebook at any point during the admission process,” she said.

All applicants are required to sign an honor pledge and have teacher recommendations with their signatures. That is strong enough of an indication of an applicant’s character, Memory said.

Cindy Barr, assistant dean of admissions at Elon University, said her university uses Facebook for marketing purposes and to get students interested in applying, but never uses the Web site to evaluate applicants.

“If Facebook is your sole basis of judgment of an applicant, then you’re not doing a thorough job,” she said.

Universities are legally allowed to view an applicant’s profile before making their decision, said Michael Curtis, professor of law at Wake Forest University.

Curtis said as long as it is open to the public, then it is legal for anyone to access a user’s profile.

“If you leave it on public setting, open to everyone, then you’ve waived your right to privacy,” he said.

Some students said they don’t mind universities using Facebook during the admission process.

 “It’s public knowledge if you put everything out there, so I think it is right,” said UNC senior Allison Wilborn.



Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.