The statistic is from a survey conducted by Kaplan Test Prep, which also reports that 37% of the admissions officers surveyed said they had checked out an applicant on Facebook or another social networking website. And guess what? "Nearly a third of admissions officers who researched an applicant online – 32% – said they discovered something that negatively impacted an applicant’s admissions chances."
It is no surprise, then, to find that LSAT applicants are not happy about the prospects of being checked out online:
In a separate survey of 869 Kaplan Test Prep students who took the October LSAT, 77% objected to having their online personae included as part of the admissions process (although only 15% said that there is something in their personal digital footprint that might negatively affect their application.) Interestingly, the same percentage – 77% – also said that as future lawyers they should be held to a higher ethical standard than other professionals.
The advice seems obvious, doesn't it? Clean up your act, folks, online and otherwise.
HT: ABA Journal
