Princeton students express concern over grade quotas
The Daily Princetonian Princeton
UWIRE – Students hoping to get a leg up in the admissions process have learned to seek the Facebook pages of admissions counselors such as Adabel Estrella in the Texas Tech University office of admissions.
“I have had a student request me on Facebook,” Estrella said. “I deny it because I think it is important not to cross that line.”
According to a Kaplan survey, more than 70 percent of admissions officers receive friend requests from prospective students on Facebook or MySpace.
Kristen Campbell, national director of College Prep Programs for Kaplan, said the growing trend is a result of a tech-savvy generation.
“I think students get it,” Campbell said.
“They are savvy and they get that this is a hyper-competitive college admissions environment. Facebook and MySpace has become a useful tool for students to get to know colleges and colleges to get to know students.”
Jacob Taylor, an electronic media and communications junior from Bellville, said he has a different opinion.
“I would not ask for a friend request from admissions officer,” Taylor said.
“I do not think it is appropriate because it seems like an unfair advantage over other students.”
Although Tech does not have a written policy regarding admissions officers accepting friend requests on Facebook, the office has a policy against the practice.
“Our office policy is to not accept friend requests to our personal Facebook pages,” assistant director of admissions Jamie Hansard said.
“Instead, we direct prospective students to our new regional admissions Facebook page.”
The existence of a university social networking policy is rare, Campbell said. Only 13 percent of colleges have a policy and 21 percent are in the process of writing one.
“While students might be reaching out proactively, college admissions haven’t necessarily figured out how to react,” she said.
Tech Admissions has created four separate Facebook pages for each regional admissions office to curb the occurrence of students sending friend requests to admissions officers.
“I think it’s another way to make sure prospective students know the admissions counselors are there to support them through the admissions process,” Admissions Counselor Tori Riley said.
“It also helps with accessibility. We work from 8 (a.m.) to 5 (p.m.) and that is not always convenient for students. This way they have access to us through e-mail or Facebook 24/7.”
Campbell said Facebook should not replace the importance of other application factors.
“While Facebook is a way to connect with a college, it is not going to be the end-all, be-all,” Campbell said.
“Grades, essays, extra curricular activities and test grades are still the most important part of an application.”
Last year Tech also launched RaiderSpace, a social networking site for admitted students where they can interact with admissions officers and other students.
