Social media checks for students and new grads (18+)

Do colleges look at applicants' social media?

Most admissions officers say they don't, but some do. In a Kaplan survey of 205 admissions officers at top national, regional and liberal arts colleges, polled August to December 2023, 28% said they had visited an applicant's social media. 67% said it is "fair game" and 33% called it an invasion of privacy (source 1). Kaplan's 2023 release gave no percentage for how often it hurt applicants; it said only that officers who look are "much likelier to find something that negatively impacts their chances."

An earlier Kaplan wave (survey fall 2021) found that 57% of the officers who check said what they found had a negative impact. That figure is a share of officers who look, not of all officers (source 2). Inside Higher Ed reported a 2017 survey in which 14% of private colleges and 4% of public colleges said they had rejected students or revoked acceptances over social media at least once in two years (source 3).

What has actually cost students offers

• Harvard, 2017. The Harvard Crimson reported that Harvard withdrew offers to at least 10 incoming freshmen after administrators found offensive memes in a private Facebook group chat (source 4). Harvard said it reserves the right to withdraw an offer.
• Marquette, 2020. Marquette rescinded an incoming athlete's admission and lacrosse scholarship over a Snapchat post about George Floyd, citing "racially offensive language in other social media posts" (source 5).
• Other 2020 reversals. Inside Higher Ed also listed offer reversals at other colleges that year, including a law school (source 3).

These are news cases, not a measure of how often it happens. Several involved content from before the person turned 18, which is outside this guide: PruneSocial is for adults 18 and over.

Professional programs look too

The AAMC tells medical school applicants to assume admissions committees may look them up, to keep accounts private, and to remove content they aren't proud of. It names illegal content and discriminatory remarks as examples that can hurt (source 6). For bar admission, a Bar Examiner article by Erwin Chemerinsky says applicants' social media speech "might be very relevant," while also noting there are not yet many cases where someone was denied admission because of it (source 7). See also the law guide.

First jobs and internships

A 2017 CareerBuilder/Harris Poll of 2,380 US hiring and HR managers found 70% used social media to screen candidates, and 54% had found content that led them not to hire someone (source 8). That survey is not specific to new graduates, and I found no newer employer figure for entry-level hiring.

If an outside company runs the check, the FTC has said in a staff letter that a social media screening vendor can be a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (source 9). The employer must give you a stand-alone written disclosure and get your written authorization first, and must send a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report before acting on it (source 10). See your rights in a social media background check.

Before you apply

Work through anything flagged in your own exports, then decide what to keep, hide or remove. See how to clean up your social media. Don't mass delete, and don't delete anything you may be required to keep (for example, if a school has opened an investigation).

What PruneSocial covers, and what to check yourself

PruneSocial scores supported text from your own account exports (posts, comments, likes and more) against published screening categories. Political, news-event and workplace commentary is listed separately as reputation flags. Add these by hand:

1. Private group chats and DMs. They aren't in account exports, so PruneSocial can't read them. The Harvard case above came from one.
2. Photos and videos. PruneSocial doesn't read images yet, so memes, screenshots and photos need a look by hand.
3. Accounts under old usernames, and posts you were tagged in by friends.
4. Anything from before you were 18. Decide what to keep, hide or remove.

Related guides

• How to clean up your social media before applying
• What can employers see on your social media?
• Social media checks for law students and lawyers
• Your rights in a social media background check

Sources

1. Kaplan survey of admissions officers, released January 2024 (Business Wire)
2. Kaplan survey of admissions officers, released February 2022 (Business Wire)
3. Inside Higher Ed: colleges reverse admissions offers (2020)
4. WBUR: Harvard rescinds admission offers (2017), citing The Harvard Crimson
5. WCPO: Marquette rescinds an athlete's admission (2020)
6. AAMC: How social media can affect your application
7. The Bar Examiner (NCBE), Summer 2025
8. Staffing Industry Analysts: CareerBuilder/Harris Poll social media screening survey (2017)
9. FTC staff letter to Social Intelligence Corporation (May 9, 2011)
10. FTC: Using Consumer Reports: What Employers Need to Know