Over a quarter of college admissions officers use Google or Facebook in applicant evaluations, according to a Oct. 4 Kaplan Test Prep’s survey. St. Thomas, however, does not go searching for future students’ online information.

Vice President of Admissions Marla Friederichs said instead the St. Thomas’ Admissions Department focuses on using students’ social mediums in a different way.

“We use (social media) as a tool to communicate with applicants,” Friederichs said. “We do not use it for information that would impact the admission decision.”

Colin Gruenwald, Kaplan Test Prep’s director of SAT and ACT programs, said colleges are looking to online resources because of the increased competition for college enrollment.

“We really need to be aware of the amount of competition,” Gruenwald said. “Schools have the opportunity to be more discriminating, and they use more data points to compare which students they want to let in. It’s not just a matter of the very polished version that you send out.”

Freshmen Ben Dymit and Shannon Kelly both said they do not believe that using social networking sites in the college admission decision process is an invasion of privacy.

“You’re in control of your Facebook profile. If you give people the right to see it, then they’ll see it,” Dymit said.

Kelly shared a similar view on how students control their Facebook profile.

“If you’re putting it on the Internet, you know full well that other people are going to see it. So, it’s not an invasion of privacy,” Kelly said. “If it’s something personal, put it in a diary.”

The survey also found that 35 percent of colleges using online resources reported a negative impact on applicants. This is a 300 percent increase from last year.

Though St. Thomas’ admissions officers did not participate in this survey, Friederichs did have some instances where material other than the standard application affected the students.

“We’ve had situations where students have written me an inappropriate email because I didn’t give them a scholarship,” Friederichs explained. “It didn’t put UST in a good light.”

Friederichs said an applicant’s email and voicemail could create a poor first impression as well, especially for a future employer.

“You have one chance at making a first impression,” Friederichs said. “So if your email address is inappropriate, it may seem really hip and cool to your peer group, but an employer’s going to get an impression of you from that email address.”

Sophomore Libby Rihm said she would change certain aspects of her Facebook and Twitter accounts if she knew employers were looking.

“I definitely would not have pictures in undesirable situations or have any swearing because you don’t want (employers) to think you’re trashy,” Rihm said. “I would make myself look very classy.”

Gruenwald had advice for all social media users.

“Think before you tweet, control your access,” Gruenwald said. “The Internet has a long memory; be careful what you tell it.”

Laura Landvik can be reached at land7854@stthomas.edu.