It probably goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: social media is both the best and worst place to turn when you’re looking for guidance in the college admissions process. Instagram, TikTok, and the like are excellent resources for getting a sense of what campus life is like at a particular school, for following organizations and teams you might want to join as a student, and for hearing about graduate success stories. No doubt, there is value in selectively using social media to get an inside look at colleges before you decide where to visit physically.

For everything else, though, proceed with caution.

“I heard on TikTok…” “I saw on YouTube …” “I read in a parent group …” Pedram Shojai, author of The Urban Monk, talks about “curating” what online content you consume so you’re only reading from trusted, reputable sources. Misinformation spreads like wildfire online, especially if it’s negative. For my money, based on my 20+ years in the college admissions field, these sentiments trending on social media could use a little context and perspective:

“SAT scores are as important again now as they were pre-pandemic.”

Don’t Believe the Hype: Scores are important, although still optional for many great colleges, but COVID accelerated a shift toward Admissions Offices evaluating candidates as much on how they’ll contribute to a campus community on their “numbers.” A college’s stated “range” of scores usually measures the middle 50% of admitted students – meaning at least 20-25% of students got in a score below that range. Get your scores close to a range, and you’ve got as good a chance as anyone else, even if you haven’t “hit their numbers.”

“You have to apply to 10-20 schools.”

Don’t Believe the Hype: It’s not how many you apply to, but where you apply. That doesn’t mean setting your bar too low. It means starting with 6-10 schools you really love, spread across “reach” schools, solid targets, and safeties. The problem is that people equate “safety” with “fallback. If you craft your list the right way from the get-go, you won’t have any fallback options. You’ll have a list full of places where you could be happy and successful – and some will be less competitive than others.

“The whole process is more stressful and unpredictable than ever.”

Don’t Believe the Hype: Well … maybe believe this one a little. It does feel like the unpredictability factor has increased. The secret sauce for getting into any given college seems murkier than ever. But that doesn’t have to make it more stressful. Going back to the previous Hype, start with a list of colleges that you’d love to attend, regardless of how competitive they are. You might be happily shocked when that dream/reach school offers you admission, AND a scholarship to boot! Or the reaches and even target schools may not work – in which case you have a solid 3 or 4 safety schools to pick from. “Unpredictable” and “impossible” are not the same thing, so don’t spend time stressing over trying to be the perfect candidate when you never know what that ideal candidate looks like to any given school in any given admissions cycle!