Who Needs College Orientation When There's Facebook?

It’s only a matter of days now until local 2013 high school graduates head off to the great unknown—college. But these days some of the “unknowns” of sending kids to college have become less so because of social media. 

Radnor High School graduate Christopher Merken has already met in person one of the thousands of fellow members of his class of 2017 at University of Delaware. He met a fellow Red Sox fan while he was in Boston this summer. 

In fact, he already has plans to go out to dinner with other incoming freshman from places like Virginia and Colorado that he met through Delaware’s closed Facebook group.

“It makes it less awkward,” Merken said, for people to make friends before showing up for orientation. Although 14 of his classmates from Radnor will be joining him at Delaware, “It’s great to go [to college] with people who have similar interests.”

Online, people are comparing schedules to see who is joining them in classes and are already creating study groups, he said.

Social media is even helping sway some applicants towards colleges that offer more for them socially online, said Constance T. McEvoy, Director of College Counseling at Agnes Irwin School. 

McEvoy said she noticed particularly this year with several of the students she counseled that colleges that were not top on their lists “came quickly into focus for the fact that they could connect on social media.” 

“They’re making friends and, in some cases, meeting each other,” she said, adding that for one West Coast school, as soon as letters of acceptance were mailed out, those who received them in the Northeast created a meet-up event in New York City.

Social media provides “a little prescreening before they get together,” McEvoy said. “It takes some of the unnecessary mystery out of the situation.”

In some cases, even within incoming classes there are social media subgroups. For example, students heading to University of St. Andrews in Scotland for the joint program with The College of William and Mary have their own subgroup for online networking. “It helps change making the decision [of where to go to college],” McEvoy said.

As the days of summer creep on and many 18-year-olds will soon depart from their families, homes and communities, in many cases excitement is turning into “How’s this going to be,” in their minds, she said.

Social media is helping to ease nerves, worries and discomforts about going to college. It’s making joining thousands of new people a little less impersonal. 

“It’s really helpful as an educational tool, a networking tool and for just making friends,” Merken said.