Did you know that college admissions' offices are actively perusing your Facebook and MySpace (and Xanga, etc) pages to see what you've posted? Everything you type, post and comment becomes part of the public record and creates your online reputation.
I knew that but even so, I was really surprised today when on my media tour in New York (for Norton Online Family which is currently in beta) to hear from noted teen expert, Vanessa Van Petten, that during her college days she would take that even further. While a student at Emory University, Vanessa would conduct campus tours for the eager applicant high schoolers. At the end of the tour, she would offer to "friend" them on Facebook and naturally, they all accepted. What they couldn't have anticipated was that Vanessa and her colleagues in the admissions' office would review their profiles (every photo, comment and wall entry) for any evidence pro or con to add to their application information. Even if the kid themselves had nothing too incriminating, if their photos showing underage drinking (for example) were on another friend's page but tagged them, Vanessa could see it. She said she believes several applicants were rejected because of what she and others like her were finding on the social networks.
Wow. This is serious stuff folks. Take the time to help your high school friends clean up their online reputation and save them a disappointment later.