How to Audit Your Digital Footprint: A Student’s Guide to College Application Success

Did you know 67% of college admissions officers review applicants’ social media? Based on that stat alone, learning to audit your digital footprint is crucial for college applications. Every post, like, and comment you make online leaves a trace that can influence your chances of getting into your dream school.

Think of your digital footprint as your online reputation. Just like you want to make a good first impression when you meet someone, you want your online presence to show your best self to colleges.

This guide will help you check and clean up your online presence. You’ll learn what to look for, what to fix, and how to build a positive image online. Let’s make sure your digital footprint helps, not hurts, your college dreams.

What Makes Up Your Digital Footprint

Your digital footprint is more extensive than you might think. Here’s an initial laundry list of stuff that contributes to your digital footprint:

Things You Do Online

• Social media posts: Your posts, photos, and videos tell a story about who you are. Colleges look at these to see how you engage with others and what you care about. What you post also helps colleges determine whether you’re a good fit for their community.
• Comments on videos and blogs: How you respond to others says a lot about you. Quick, angry comments can hurt your image, while kind, helpful replies make you look good. Remember, you’ll attract more bees with honey than you will with vinegar.
• Online reviews: When you write reviews, you show how you handle positive and negative experiences. These reviews show colleges whether you can effectively solve problems or if you resort to complaining.
• Art and videos you share: Sharing your creative work helps colleges know what you love. Your YouTube videos, artwork, and music are a great way to highlight your unique skills and interests.
• Online school projects: The work you post shows what you can do. Group projects are a great way to demonstrate your ability to collaborate with peers.

Things Others Do

• Photos posted by your friends: Your friends might tag you in party photos or silly pictures without asking you first. These photos can cast a negative light on you. Set up alerts so you’re notified when people tag you.
• Comments about you: When others write about you online, they might say things that damage your image. Getting into fights in the comments or letting mean posts stay up looks bad to colleges.
• Mentions in school news: Your school paper or website might have old stories about you. While most news is good, old stories might show things you’d rather colleges didn’t see.
• Student organization websites: School group pages might show outdated info or unflattering photos. If you left a club on bad terms, it can look like you can’t stick with your commitments.
• Family posts about you: Your parents or siblings might share baby photos or funny stories. While they mean well, these posts can make you look less mature.
• Team rosters and news stories: Sports and local news outlets websites might show times you lost your cool or fought with others. A single negative moment in sports could stay online and hurt your image.

Remember: Even after you delete something, it might still exist somewhere online. Someone could have taken a screenshot or saved it.

Why Colleges Look at Your Social Media

Colleges want to know the real you. Your grades and test scores tell only part of your story. Here’s what they hope to learn from your online presence:

What They Like to See

• Hobbies and interests: When you post about things you love, like sports or music, colleges see a whole person. They want students who will join clubs and make campus life better.
• Leadership in clubs or teams: Showing how you lead your school club or sports team tells colleges a lot. It proves you can help guide others and make good things happen.
• Community service: Pictures of you cleaning beaches or helping at food banks show you care about others. Colleges look for students who want to make their community better.
• Creative projects: Sharing your art, music, or science projects shows you like to try new things. This tells colleges you’ll join in and add cool ideas to their classes.
• Positive interactions with others: Being kind and helpful in your comments shows you’re good with people. Colleges want students who will be friendly and work well in groups.
• Smart discussions about your future field: Talking about subjects you want to study shows you care. This lets colleges know you’re excited to learn, not just looking for a degree.

What Raises Red Flags

• Mean comments: Writing mean things about others shows you might not be pleasant to classmates. Colleges want their students to feel safe and happy, so they worry when they see unkind posts.
• Bad language: Curse words and rough talk in your posts look bad. Colleges know you’ll need to speak well with teachers and other students, so they want people who use good words.
• Party photos: Pictures showing wild parties or drinking make colleges worry. They need students who stay safe and follow rules, so these photos can hurt your chances.
• Mentioning cheating: Even jokes about copying homework look very bad. Colleges need students who do honest work. Talk of cheating can keep you out of good schools.
• Bullying: Making fun of people or sharing mean photos tells colleges you might cause problems. They want students who help others feel good, not those who make others feel bad.
• Inappropriate jokes: Making fun of serious things shows you might not think before you post. Colleges want students who care about others’ feelings and use good judgment.

Good news: Many students have gotten into better colleges because of their positive online presence. You can, too!

How to Check Your Online Presence

Let’s clean up your digital footprint step by step.

Step 1: Search Your Name

Do this first:

• Google your full name with quote marks
• Look at Google Images
• Try different ways to spell your name
• Check other search engines
• Search your name + your school
• Look up your email address

Step 2: Check All Social Media

Look at each platform:

• Find old accounts you forgot about
• Check your privacy settings
• Look through all your posts
• Review tagged photos
• Read your old comments
• Check saved items

Step 3: Look Deeper

Don’t forget these places:

• Old blogs
• Gaming profiles
• School newspaper
• Sports team websites
• Club pages
• Online forums you used

Tools to Help You

These tools make checking your online presence easier:

Free Tools

• Google Alerts: Tells you when your name appears online
• Social Mention: Finds social media posts about you
• Have I Been Pwned: Checks if your data was leaked

Privacy Tools

• Privacy settings checkers
• Password managers
• Personal information removers

Creating a Great Online Image

After cleaning up harmful content, share good things:

What to Share

• School achievements: When you post about good grades and awards, colleges see you work hard. This helps them know you’ll do well in their classes and make their school proud.
• Volunteer work: Show how you help around your community. This shows that you care about others and will join in to help your school community.
• Athletic or music events: Share when you win games or perform in concerts. This proves you’re up for a challenge and play well with others. Colleges want students with these types of skills.
• Science fair projects: Show off your cool experiments and what you learned. This tells colleges you like to figure things out and try new ideas in fun ways.
• Art or writing: Share your work, such as drawings or stories. This shows colleges that you think creatively and can clearly communicate your ideas with others.
• Club activities: Show how you work with others in school clubs. This tells colleges you’ll join in campus life and help make fun things happen at school.

How to Share It

• Use clear, clean language
• Keep it positive
• Show your interests
• Help others
• Join good discussions
• Share useful information

Your Clean-Up Checklist

Use this list to stay on track:

Do Now

• Search your name online
• Check all social media
• Fix privacy settings
• Delete bad posts
• Update your profiles

Do Weekly

• Check new tags
• Look for mentions
• Post positive updates
• Join high-quality, positive discussions

Do Monthly

• Search your name again
• Check privacy settings
• Update your profiles
• Add new achievements

Recap & Closing Thoughts

Your online presence tells a story about who you are, and college admissions teams are reading it carefully. By checking your digital footprint now, you can ensure it tells a good story about you.

Here’s what to remember:

• Look at your online presence each month
• Fix any problems right away
• Share things that show your best self
• Think before you post
• Help others post good content, too

You can start this work independently, but cleaning up your online presence takes time. You might miss old posts or accounts that could hurt your chances.

We can help! The Bright Future Branding team knows what colleges look for online. Our digital check-up will:

• Catch problems you might miss
• Help manage negative content
• Add good posts featuring you
• Look for new issues

Don’t let online problems keep you from your dream school. Want to chat? Send us a note or email us at hello@brightfuture.com. We’ll review your online presence and show you how we can improve it. Want to make your online presence help your college dreams? Get in touch today – your future self will thank you!