Since Facebook opened user profiles to the public in 2006, there has been much debate around whether Facebook profiles are an appropriate face for college students to show to admissions counselors and potential employers. According to The Wall Street Journal, the practice of admissions professionals looking at social network sites to evaluate applicants is not wide-spread, as only 10% of 500 top colleges acknowledged doing so.  It’s still a catch 22 of sorts, as both sides of the argument have valid points. For admissions, it provides more insight into who the high school student really is. But from the student’s perspective, since Facebook was built to allow users to share and connect freely with those they care about, it seems like an invasion of privacy. President Obama gave a strong endorsement for the former argument to say the least, but there’s still more to be considered for the underdogs, including the double-standard that’s at play.

No one would argue with President Obama for saying that what people put out on the web can come back to haunt them later in life. That actually is one of the few universally-accepted premises about social media. But the admissions community has made it clear that reaching students where they are is a top priority. The problem is that reaching students on their Facebook profile while expecting them to be professional, mature, and “buttoned-up,” is both unrealistic and oxymoronic.

Does this imply that Facebook is not conducive to performing fair evaluations of applicants? Of course not. Performing fair evaluations of high school students is indeed feasible through Facebook, but under the right circumstances. Imagine an environment in Facebook where students can be themselves and admissions counselors can be themselves. Students would be able to put their best foot forward with the right comments, pictures and questions to tell their unique story. And admissions departments could show off their dedicated admissions counselors, student ambassadors, school branding, alongside other departments and campus groups to help tell their institution’s story. That’s one of many ways to describe Schools on Facebook, Inigral’s premium Facebook application.

If you’re in admissions, and you want to find how Schools on Facebook can help your team meet it’s business goals for the 2010 recruiting season, drop me an email at tzanders [at] inigral [dot] com.