by
Block Party
June 24, 2025
In the current socio-political environment, the term “digital footprint” has become more than just a buzzword. Nowhere does this ring more true than in the case of matriculating students and high schoolers applying to college.
With the current administration expanding digital oversight through social media vetting coupled with admissions officers resorting to reviewing applicants’ socials, it is crucial that students understand that their posts, likes, and other shared content (like memes) may carry potential repercussions. But, contrary to popular belief, there are smart ways to manage your digital past without panicking or disappearing from the internet. In this post, we unpack what to clean, what to keep, and how to present your most authentic, college-ready self online.
A Kaplan study from 2023, revealed that 67% of admissions officers consider social media vetting to be a fair way to learn and make decisions about admitting applicants. While 47% believe that social media presence has a positive impact on prospective students, real life stories reveal that ignoring your digital behavior can have life altering consequences as well.
The most high profile case among these was in 2017 when Harvard revoked the admissions of 10 students after they exchanged offensive memes in a private Facebook group. More recently, Marquette University rescinded a student’s admission offer after discovering a racist social media post about George Floyd’s murder. Even seemingly “innocent” content has found scrutiny, such as student Aly Drake who used TikTok to vent about her ex-boyfriend and loneliness was denied a spot on her university's water ski team because her videos were deemed “too negative.”
Most students react to these stories in one of three ways: ignoring the issue entirely, panicking and deleting everything, or feeling overwhelmed and doing nothing. However, neither of these reactions are helpful.
For starters, ignorance can be dangerous—as the Harvard case shows, even private group chats aren’t safe. Deleting everything may seem like a safe bet, but it can raise red flags of its own. A digital footprint that is too clean might make admissions officers suspicious or lead them to question what you’re hiding. Additionally, a complete wipe-out also removes positive content that could potentially work in your favor. In fact, 47% of admissions officers who reviewed applicants’ social media said it benefited the student, so the truth is, your social media presence can actually help you stand out if it’s managed thoughtfully and intentionally.
Review the photos and posts you’ve shared across your accounts as well as the content you’re tagged in for anything that could be viewed as inappropriate, offensive, or emotionally vulnerable… even if it was posted as a joke. When in doubt, ask yourself: Would this make sense to someone who doesn’t know me? Could this be taken out of context? What message does this convey? Consider untagging, archiving or deleting anything you wouldn’t want tied to your image.
Don’t forget that your likes, comments, shares, poll votes, and other small interactions also contribute to your digital footprint and these forms of engagement can shape how admissions officers perceive you.
Cleaning your feed doesn’t mean you need to censor your entire personality. Consider how you use different platforms and review which accounts may be worth taking private. Platforms like Snapchat or Instagram who have ephemeral features may be safer from scrutiny, but are inherently safer from scrutiny with its ephemeral nature, but the safest approach is to avoid posting anything you wouldn’t want shared publicly, even in private spaces.
If you want a space to be more unfiltered, you can utilize a private account (like a finsta) with a restricted follower list. On that note, we’ll caution that content shared on private accounts has made its way into the wrong hands through screenshots or leaks. Things like insensitive jokes, comments on hot-button issues, or overly vulnerable personal posts have been grounds for admission decisions, so don’t let private groups or accounts give you a false sense of immunity. Thoughtful curation is your best defense!
Many students are surprised by how much of their social media is still public—even when their accounts are “locked down.” What others can see often comes down to your settings. Even with a private account, things like your bio, cover photo, or tagged images might still be visible. Before applying to schools or scholarships, it’s worth taking time to review what’s public and adjust what shows up in those spaces.
Check who can find your profile, who can tag or mention you, and what past content is still accessible. The settings menus can run deep, but a quick cleanup goes a long way in making sure your online presence reflects the version of you you want schools to see.
As an added layer of protection, some students adjust their display name or handle across accounts to make it harder for admissions officers to connect the dots and find additional profiles.
Deleting pieces of content one-by-one can be cumbersome and, well, inefficient. With deadlines and other application related pressure, the last thing you need is another task to slow you down. Fortunately, there are solutions that help to bulk-delete content for you, in addition to identifying and making privacy setting recommendations so you’re not stuck sifting through pages to uncover risks.
At Block Party we help prospective students clean up their digital footprint the smart way. Our extension can analyze existing account settings, provide expert recommendations to keep your social media accounts secure, and help bulk clean up your content and connections in just a few clicks (see a full list of our cleanup tools here). Before you hit “submit” on your college apps, take the time to submit the best version of yourself—online and offline.
