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Thanks for the A2A.This topic gets a fair amount of coverage from the media. Tom has provided some good links and they are what I would call a representative sample.I will add a couple of links and quotes and then talk more specifically about my personal experience with the issue and then raise some points that might be pertinent to your question.Of 381 college admissions officers who answered a Kaplan telephone questionnaire this year, 31 percent said they had visited an applicant’s Facebook or other personal social media page to learn more about them — a five-percentage-point increase from last year. More crucially for those trying to get into college, 30 percent of the admissions officers said they had discovered information online that had negatively affected an applicant’s prospects.http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/business/they-loved-your-gpa-then-they-saw-your-tweets.html?pagewanted=allIf nearly a third of admission readers check social media, then students need to be careful about what they post. I would say that this caveat might be even more important for those seeking internships or jobs.What The Times article leaves out, however, is the drop in the negatives as far as social media affects admission officers:Despite the growth in online checking, however, there’s been a dip — to 30% this year from 35% in Kaplan’s 2012 survey — in the number of admissions officers reporting that they’re finding something that negatively impacted an applicant’s admissions chances. And notably, in a separate survey of college-bound students**, more than three-quarters said they would not be concerned if an admissions officer Googled them. In response to the question, “If a college admissions officers were to do an online search of you right now, how concerned would you be with what they found negatively impacting your chances of getting in?” 50% said they would be “Not at all concerned” while 27% said “Not too concerned.” Only 14% of students said they would be “Very concerned” while the remainder said they would be “Somewhat concerned.”Kaplan Test Prep Survey: More College Admissions Officers Checking Applicants’ Digital Trails, But Most Students UnconcernedWhile more admission people report looking at social media, more students seem to have done enough to make sure that their on-line presence will not hurt them for admission. What neither article does in any systematic way is to give a list of things that students have done that negatively impacted their chances of admission. The Times article points out a student tweeting terrible things about a school she applied to, and this would of course hurt anyone’s chances.But what are the things that might hurt besides trashing a particular school? There are a few things I can think of that would be certain to sink a student: racist, homophobic, sexist, xenophobic comments or postings would doom anyone. But I doubt this happens much, in part because if the student did post such things there would likely already be consequences at his or her secondary school. These kinds of things would inflame at least some students at any school and it usually does not take long before someone talks about it to the school.I also think that students have heard from the media and school officials to make sure not to put anything that would hurt them in life or in the admission process. But kids still do dumb things, and so do the rest of us too.Let’s assume that almost all students now don’t post things that will doom them out of hand. Are there other things that might hurt them? My answer is yes, but I base this on hearsay rather than hard evidence.Let’s assume a student has just celebrated an 18th birthday. He or she posts a photo showing the brand new top of the line BMW that they received from mom and dad. On the face of it, this might not seem like a negative but for some in the world of admission and the world at large it would be. Most admission people are not in the 1% of the economic spread. Not by a long shot. Seeing students who jet off to Paris for the weekend, or get presents that most could never afford, and who generally come across as spoiled may well, at some level and to some extent, hurt their chances of winning over an admission officer. There are at least some in the world of admission who think rich kids have too many advantages over the rest of the population and anything that comes across as reveling in wealth might be a negative, either consciously or not.The other example I will bring up is even more sensitive and likely to raise some comments (I hope this is the case actually). A long while ago, when paper applications were still the norm and things were far different than today, applications often came with a little space that said: photo (not required). The thought was that seeing the face, typically a yearbook picture, helped to humanize the applicant. You could see who was submitting an application. Then, however, people said tha photos should not be a part of the application process as they could bias a reader. Now on the Common Application (and virtually all other applications), a photo is verboten.Social media now undercuts the effort to take looks out of the picture (pun intended). Facebook or even Google search comes up with images pretty quickly. Let’s assume that an admission reader pulls up a Facebook page of a young woman whose profile photo shows her at a debutante ball. And it shows that there are hundreds or even thousands of photos of herself posted. This might lead some readers to think the young woman is too preoccupied with prestige, class, looks and herself. (For some it might unconsciously bias them to give her a plus as studies show that how someone looks alters how we perceive them.) Will this show up on a survey of admission readers? Probably not, but it is something worth considering.On the other hand it may be that a social media page might help a student. A Quoran in secondary school recently posted photos of her efforts to collect books and donate them to under-privileged students in a low-income school district. If I saw this while reading an application I would count it as a plus.In terms of personal experience, I don’t have many to share. A while back I asked some current undergraduates to create a student group, The Mainland Student Network. Its mission was to interview students from China and also to examine the activities and things they said they did outside of the classroom. In one case a student said on renren that he/she had written a book and posted the book title there. The MSN student did some detective work and found out the book had been written by someone else.I mention China in particular as it brings up another issue. Do some schools really want to know that much abut students. The ones awash in applications certainly do as choosing among an exceptional group of students is difficult. (It is also incredibly time consuming.) I can’t imagine many readers at schools that have huge applicant pools spending much effort investigating social media. There just isn’t time to get through all the materials already submitted by the applicants. Most who send in extra stuff to supplement the application will be sad to know it rarely gets looked over at a number of schools.Most schools in the US, however, are not all that selective. The selective schools get the most press, but the number of them is small. What many schools are looking for are reasonably good students, and reasonably good students who can pay. Many schools in the US import huge numbers of students from China. They have great transcripts, high scores, strong recommendations and essays. The problem is a lot of this is fabricated by paid "agents". They get paid a lot to write essays, and recs, alter transcripts etc. Many schools know this but often don’t put resources into checking these credentials. This leads me to believe that most schools, which need students, will not often deny a student based on a somewhat sketchy social media post or photo. If a student is reasonably good by the numbers is it worth cutting them out if they are holding what looks like an alcoholic beverage in a photo? I doubt it in most cases. Fraud fears rocket as Chinese seek a place at any priceI mention the alcohol photo as it too raises issues. A person looking like they are having a great time at a party might be holding a to go cup but it would be inviting a lawsuit to turn in that student. Even if they are holding a bottle of hard liquor that does not prove they actually consumed it. Would schools want to go to court over this? I doubt this too.I think most of what is put up about social media and schools looking things over falls into the category of providing a useful service. Telling students to take care what they post is useful. Telling anyone the same is useful too, but I don’t think it affects as many students as the surveys suggest.The last thing I will mention is that there are now businesses that offer student a chance to submit their social media profile to them so they can go through and edit out anything that might look bad. I have no idea how any might use this but I am sure there is at least some interest in this. It means that that is yet one more way that parents and students are paying for others to help them in the admission process.*******************************************************************Please read this wonderful set of comments and questions about this post from Jack Nelson, He made these comments on LinkedIn, and has given me permission to post them here.Jack is the Director of Recruitment for Graduate Business Programs at Hofstra UniversityAlways enjoy your posts, Parke. I think you're right on the money. I do wonder, though, how many of those admission counselors who answered "yes" to that survey actively went out and took the time to find students' profiles. I can't imagine there's more than a handful of schools for which that is a normal part of their review process. As you say, there simply isn't time for it. We have a few ways admitted students can interact with each other through Facebook, but the conversation belongs to them. We've actually used Facebook for over six years, back before absolutely everything had its own Facebook page. Back then, students could interact with "Admission Counselor"- a profile we set up to have a social media presence, way back in the day. If a student had messaged me there or now if they engage through Facebook, it was and is incumbent on them to carefully manage their privacy settings, IF they have anything they don't want visible to us and IF we clicked on their profile after they contacted us. That said, they are the ones who reach out to us. If they don't, we're not taking the time to find them on Facebook. My long-winded point is: for us, Facebook functions much like the interview. It is not required, but when a student goes out of their way to engage with us and start a conversation on social media, as in any other method of communication, we appreciate their engagement and welcome their comments or questions. Of those survey-takers who answered yes, I wonder how many actively sought out students on Facebook and for how many the students had already opened that line of communication with them.

You should first look at your Academic credentials:GPA: MIT has no minimum GPA and they don’t even publish data about GPA on their website. Now the GPA concept works mostly in the USA and not other countries like China, India, and UK etc.. and I assume so for Nigeria. But don’t worry!!! they won’t convert your grades to American GPA and would review your grades in the context of your school environment.GPA is not measured as a mere number!!!and rather the following things are given more weight:a) The rigor of your high school curriculumb) The trend of your grades ( don’t show a dip in grades but rather show an increase in grades over time and it’s okay that if you have a weak high school start, you can always finish strong by showing an upward trend in grades)c) MIT has a recommended system for international students as follows:Four years of EnglishMathematics, at least to the level of calculusTwo or more years of history/social studiesBiologyChemistryPhysicsWhile these courses are not required, studying them will increase the chances that you will be sufficiently prepared academically to attend MIT. Students without all of the listed recommended classes are welcome to apply.If your high school doesn’t offer courses that challenge you, you may want to explore other options, such as dual-enrollment opportunities at local colleges or enrollment in virtual high school options.OpenCourseWareMIT’s OpenCourseWare provides users with open access to the syllabi, lecture notes, course calendars, problem sets and solutions, exams, and even a selection of video lectures from courses representing 34 departments. If you need to narrow your options, you can check out OCW’s Highlights for High School, featuring courses selected specifically to help high school students.edXIn 2012, MIT and Harvard partnered to create edX, a massive open online course provider and online learning platform. Today edX has dozens of top universities across the globe providing courses in topics like business, electronics, music, and physics, including classes specifically for high school students.Other resourcesKhan Academy, founded by MIT alumnus Salman Khan, is also a useful online resource for introductions to different subjects.There are more structured online environments that function more like traditional classrooms, with assigned homework, regular chat periods, an instructor, grades, and so forth. You may be able to get high school (and sometimes college) credit through these programs. Some of them include EPGY, CTYOnline, and Virtual High School.Many of our students who are mathematically inclined have found Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) an indispensable resource.The above is taken from MIT website itself……2. Standardized Testing:OK!!!!! SO MIT has changed its testing requirements and no longer requires the mandatory SAT SUBJECT TESTS AND HAS MADE SAT AND ACT COMPULSORY FOR ALL APPLICANTS INCLUDING INTERNATIONALS AND ALSO REQUIRES TOEFL AS MEASURE OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY ALONGSIDE SAT OR ACT from this yearYou should ideally score 34–36 ACT and 1520–1570 SAT to be seriously competitive for MIT and now I say that you should still take SAT subject tests and submit them to MIT and you should score say 750+ on them and they have an absolute minimum for TOEFL OF 90 AND IDEALLY 100+.Scoring below the competitive score range for MIT can seriously harm your application. I mean if you score 32/33 ACT you’re still good but if you get 30 or 29 ACT then that is seriously harming your application.3. Recommendation Letters:MIT requires two letters of recommendation from teachers. One recommendation (Evaluation A) should be from a math or science teacher, and one (Evaluation B) should be from a humanities, social science, or language teacher.You should certainly ask a teacher who has taught you in an academic class in high school. Ideally, this will also be a teacher who knows you as more than just a student who does well on all the tests. We find that the best recommendations are written by teachers who know an applicant well as both a student and a person.Your school counselor (or equivalent) should submit the Secondary School Report, along with your transcript. Most counselors also attach a letter of recommendation and a School Profile, describing your school’s curriculum and community.Supplemental evaluations are also good. Most applicants and most admitted students do not submit any supplemental recommendations. Forms for Supplemental Recommendations are available through your MyMIT account.I highly advise that you sit with your teacher and see the different SAMPLES OF EXCELLENT RECOMMENDATIONS THAT MIT HAS UPLOADED THAT WILL HELP ALL YOUR TEACHERS IN WRITING “ HOT AND GLOWING RECOMMENDATION” THAT WILL HELP YOUR MIT ADMISSION.4. Extracurricular Activities: You can atmost list 4 activities for MIT. Don’t send them a resume as they have specifically mentioned that it will hurt your chances. To put it simply, a spike is a deep accomplishment in and knowledge of a particular field.As an example, say you plan to major in biology. You'll stand out as an applicant if you have tons of biology- or science-related experiences under your belt. Maybe you're part of your school's biology club, or maybe you volunteered at a local research lab, which taught you the basics of handling lab equipment.The best extracurricular for MIT is RESEARCH WORK. If under the guidance of a professor, you have conducted research in a field and especially if that is the field that you have put in “ I AM CURRENTLY INTERESTED IN” field in PART 1 of MIT application and if YOUR RESEARCH IS PUBLISHED IN JOURNALS (PREFERABLY TOP JOURNALS) then that would be an amazing asset to your application and ALSO IF YOU HAVE PUBLISHED RESEARCH OR PRESENTED IT AT TOP CONFERENCES THEN DO SUBMIT A RESEARCH PORTFOLIO TO MIT.Do consider the following also:MIT summer programsMIT does not offer any open-enrollment summer program where any high school student can come to campus to take courses and live in the dorms. However, several partner organizations run small, specialized programs on campus. If studying the human genome, building a robot, or scoping out the stars sound like a rad way to spend your summer, then you might try one of these:MITESMinority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) is an intensive six-week residential academic enrichment program for about 80 promising high school juniors who intend to pursue careers in science, engineering, and entrepreneurship, especially those from minority backgrounds and other underrepresented segments of the population. The program is free of charge to participating students, not including transportation.RSIResearch Science Institute (RSI) brings together about 70 high school students each summer for six stimulating weeks at MIT. This rigorous academic program stresses advanced theory and research in mathematics, science, and engineering. Participants attend college-level classes taught by distinguished faculty members and complete hands-on research. Open to high school juniors, the program is free of charge for those selected.WTPWomen’s Technology Program (WTP) is a four-week summer academic and residential experience where 60 female high school students explore engineering through hands-on classes (taught by female MIT graduate students), labs, and team-based projects in the summer after their junior year. Students at WTP focus on either Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) or Mechanical Engineering (ME).SSPWhile the Summer Science Program (SSP) is not on campus, MIT co-sponsors this residential program, and many MIT students are among the program’s alumni. The curriculum is organized around a central research project in either Astrophysics or Biochemistry. In the Astrophysics program, each team of three students determines the orbit of a near-earth asteroid (minor planet) from direct astronomical observations. In the Biochemistry program, each team designs a small molecule to inhibit an enzyme from a fungal crop pathogen. The programs are six weeks long and offered at locations in Colorado, New Mexico, and Indiana.5. Awards: Most awards for MIT include International Science Olympiad medals and MIT has a lot of ISO medalists as international students and probably more than half of their international student body has had at least 1 ISO medal. Other prestigious awards include ISEF and GSF Awards.School and state-level awards are useless and meaningless and won’t have any impact on your application. Even other not so well known awards even at the National level are useless and mostly your awards are relevant only if they are in ISEF or GSF or Science Olympiads.6. Portfolios:ResearchStudents who have worked on a significant research project outside of high school classes are welcome to submit a research supplement via SlideRoom. If you have worked on more than one research project, we recommend focusing on the project that is most important to you.Please answer a brief questionnaire about your research and provide a letter of recommendation from your research mentor. Researchers may include a PDF of their abstract, poster, or research paper if available.Music & theater artsPerforming artists (musicians, composers, dancers, designers, directors, writers, and actors) with exceptional talent are welcome to submit a supplement via SlideRoom. We recommend submitting work that represents a range of styles or skills if available.Musicians: Submit two recordings representing contrasting styles or periods, of about 10 minutes total duration. Each selection must be an unedited solo performance. If possible, include accompaniment where appropriate.Composers: Submit one recent composition score in PDF format.Actors, dancers, directors, and designers: Submit up to three videos or images. Please keep the total video time no longer than 10 minutes.Writers: You may submit all or part of one or two scripts. Submissions should be no longer than 10 pages in total. If your work was performed and recorded, you may submit up to 10 minutes of video.Visual art & architectureCreative individuals with exceptional talent are welcome to submit a portfolio via SlideRoom.We encourage all types of media art, including design, drawing, painting, mixed media, digital media, photography, sculpture, and architectural work. You may submit a portfolio of up to 10 images of your work for review. Include the title, medium, a brief description, date completed, and a brief description of each work’s concept or inspiration.MakersThe Maker Portfolio is an opportunity for students to showcase their projects that require creative insight, technical skill, and a hands-on approach to learning by doing. Members of the MIT Engineering Advisory Board review all Maker portfolios. If you would like your technically creative work to be reviewed by academic and instructional staff, then it might be a good fit for the Maker Portfolio.For your Maker Portfolio, you may submit images, video totaling no more than 120 seconds, and up to one PDF of technical documentation and/or specifications via SlideRoom. You may document one project or many, and your work may have been done inside, or outside, of school, and alone or with a team; just make sure you explain it to MIT.