Flickr user magicatwork
Social media has truly become a major part of our lives. We use social media to be informed and make so many decisions in our everyday lives. Why not use for narrowing down and eventually choosing a college?
Why Use Social Media?
More and more colleges are investing in a variety of marketing strategies to showcase their facilities and attract students to their institutions. However, there is an obvious drawback—prospective students see only what the college wants them to see.
Social media allows you to peel off the shiny veneer of marketing and judge the college for what it actually is. Researching the college on social media allows you to gain first-hand accounts of the standard of the college, the culture and the social life you can expect to find there, all without stepping out of your room.
How To Use Social Media
There are different platforms which can help you out in different ways:
Facebook has several ‘college pages’ that are run by students and not necessarily the authorities. Following pages of the universities you are interested in will give you access to past and present students of the institution. You know that you will get frank, unbiased answers to any questions you have, whether it is details about the faculty in a particular department or your job prospects after graduation.
A university’s Facebook page tends to have the largest gathering of students from that university. Following their page gives you the best chance to reach out to a vast majority of the student population. It also gives you the best chance to meet other students who are in a similar situation as you are.
Twitter can be a great way to ask one-off questions that are generic. It can be answered by anyone from that specific university. Just use the relevant hashtags and fire off questions about whatever it is you wish to know. It could be as simple as “How would you rate XYZ University’s Football team?” followed by the appropriate hashtag.
Using Twitter can help you if you want more information. For example, boarding options in the vicinity or even the odds of getting a part-time job near campus.
It also helps you get a general idea of the ‘mood’ and culture on campus. You can then make a more informed decision about whether or not it is the right fit for you.
Instagram is probably the most useful platform when it comes to experiencing what the campus life and culture is like without actually having to go there yourself. It is a place where users upload spontaneously taken images and videos of every sort. Unlike Facebook pages, there is no way to actually hide or remove them. They are hosted on the personal accounts of users. Going through the images and stories of different university accounts is a great way to experience what everyday life is like at that particular campus.
YouTube
YouTube is a video platform. Go through some of the course videos available online, campus life, sporting events, music festivals, extracurricular events and more. It allows you to get a good feel of campus life at any university. However, a major drawback is that you can’t ask any questions, unless they already uploaded an FAQ video.
A Final Note on Using Social Media to Narrow Down Your College Choices
While you can’t make the decision solely through social media, it definitely helps cut down your list.
Plus, you don’t have to spend time and money on actually traveling there for that exclusive purpose.
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