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This document explains the research I conducted with first-generation college students during my graduate program at American University.
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The Role of Social Media in College Choice Among First Generation College Students
Nicholas G. Guldin
A Capstone Project
Presented to the Faculty of the School of Communication in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Arts in Public Communication
Supervisor: Professor Feldman
April 25, 2013
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Professor Lauren Feldman for her guidance, professional insight and enthusiasm throughout the capstone process. I would also like to thank Jill Heitzmann, Isaac Agbeshie-‐Noye, Aysha Puhl, Jonathan May and all others from both American University and George Mason University for dispersing the link to my survey and my contact information to all of the first-‐generation college students. Lastly, I would like to thank Professor Joseph Erba who helped me in discovering my capstone topic.
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Copyright
Nicholas G. Guldin
2013
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Abstract
There are more first-‐generation college students (FGCS) moving on to higher education than ever before. Various studies have been conducted on this unique group of students and the barriers they face in their college careers, but few focus on the issues they come across during the application process. FGCS do not have the resources or guidance that non-‐FGCS do; so, where are they going to gather information? This study set out to assess if FGCS are turning towards social media in an effort to find information about higher education and specific colleges they may be looking to attend. In-‐depth interviews were conducted with FGCS from American University and George Mason University to discover if social media had any effect on their decision-‐making process to go to college as well as where to go. Surveys were also distributed to FGCS at these two institutions. Results showed that social media was used by these students in various ways to learn more about the schools they currently attend.
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Table Of Contents
Introduction & Overview 6
Literature Review 7 Social Media Habit of Young People 9 Challenges Faced By FGCS 11 FGCS Social Media & Social Capital 16 University Outreach & Student Decisions 17 Theory of Planned Behavior & Situational Theory of Problem Solving/Publics 18 Methodology 22 Qualitative Results 23 From Awareness To Action 23 Sources Used In College Research 24 Were FGCS Using Social Media In Their College Research? 25 Impact Social Media Played In Decision-Making Process 27
Quantitative Results 28 Discussion 29 Conclusions 32 References 35 Appendix 38
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The number of first-‐generation college students (FGCS) in the U.S. is growing (Orbe,
2004). For admissions and recruitment offices at colleges across the country, this is
a new audience they need to target and address. With the different forms of
technology now in play, especially social media, students are looking for information
about colleges on the Internet. FGCS lack some of the resources that non-‐FGCS have,
such as parental or sibling guidance, the social capital of their parents, and their
parents’ knowledge of the college application process (Wohn, Ellison, Kahn, Fewins-‐
Bliss & Gray, 2013). As a result, they may be using social media as a tool to seek out
information about schools.
Colleges and universities across the country are already using social media as a
primary tool to interact with prospective students (Pidaparthy, 2011). Schools are
paying current students to blog about their college experiences, add student-‐
produced videos to the web and create Facebook groups for accepted students
(Pidaparthy, 2011). Some schools are also creating departments that focus solely on
the success of underprepared students, which includes FGC students (Abdul-‐Alim,
2012).
The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between FGC students’ use
of social media and their decision-‐making process regarding which college or
university to attend. Based on in-‐depth interviews and a survey of FGC students at
George Mason University and American University – a public and private university,
respectively, in the Washington, DC area – this study will examine FGC students’
decision-‐making process as a whole and explore how or if social media played a role
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in it. To my knowledge, this is the first study to explicitly examine this relationship.
It is hoped that results from this study will offer insight to admissions offices and
FGC students across the country. By shedding some light on the decision-‐making
process of FGCS, admissions offices can learn how to attract this specific market. By
learning their habits, recruitment officers can create strategies to better
accommodate and appeal to this specific group of students, especially on the web.
This study will begin with a literature review of materials examining the various
challenges faced by FGCS, the social media habits of all perspective students
including FGCS, the impact social capital has on FGCS, the outreach colleges are
doing to attract FGCS and the theories that will guide the qualitative and
quantitative research being conducted. Chosen themes will guide the review of
secondary research that describes the independent and dependent variables, while
also digging deeper into different aspects of the study discussed above.
Following the literature review will be an in-‐depth assessment of the data collected
through the interviews and surveys from the FGCS. The data will be analyzed based
on the theories used to guide the study: the situational theory of publics, the
situational theory of problem solving and the theory of planned behavior. A brief
conclusion will sum up the overall research findings.
Literature Review
Since 2004, social media has changed the way precollege and college students
communicate with one another, search for information and form relationships
(King, 2009). First-‐generation college (FGC) students are among these precollege
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and college students who utilize social media to interact with others and seek out
information (Orbe, 2004). When it is time to choose a college or university, FGC
students may be turning to social media to find information that will help them
make their final decision due to their lack of resources in terms of information in
comparison to non-‐FGCS.
Non-‐FGCS place a large amount of trust in their parents’ knowledge of higher
education when it comes to choosing a school to attend (Rolph, 2008). Cohen
(2009), writing in The Daily Beast, speculated that students put most of the weight
of their decision into their parents’ opinion and knowledge of the subject. Cohen
also suggested that friends impact student decisions more than counselors and
mentors. FGCS are encouraged to go to school through the passion and enthusiasm
of their parents even though they have never experienced it themselves (Rolph,
2008). If students are asking their friends for college advice they may be doing so
over social media by sharing links, videos and other important information. This
would be an example of how social media is impacting their decision. As the first
person in their family to attend college, FGC students look to find information from
other trusted resources such as mentors, friends, college websites, counselors and
possibly social media (Wang, 2012).
FGC students are enrolling in U.S. colleges and universities in increasing numbers,
yet we know little about the process they go through when deciding where they
want to go (Orbe, 2004). Given that non-‐FGCS have more resources available to
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them, there are likely major differences between the decision-‐making processes
used by FGCS and non-‐FGCS (Orbe, 2004).
Social Media Habits of Young People
Social media play an important role for precollege and college students when it
comes to entertainment, relationships, information and even identity development
(Clark, Lee & Boyer, 2007). A study discovered that students are reliant on social
media, specifically Facebook, to maintain their friendships and stay in touch with
family members near and far (King, 2009). Another study also claimed that students
use Facebook because it is convenient and available (Clark, Lee & Boyer, 2007).
Beyond Facebook, there are many different types of social media sites (King, 2009).
But why do certain students choose certain sites? King (2009) claimed that age
plays a decisive role in which social media platform students would use from middle
school, to high school and then to college (King, 2009). King (2009) found that
younger middle school students were using platforms like MySpace as a way to
define themselves and create an image. In their attempt for self-‐discovery, these
students would change their profile appearance or image as they sought out a
persona that fit them best. This plays an important role in discovering what
platforms they are using as high school and college students (King, 2009).
As these middle school students transitioned into high school they would also
change platforms and move onto Facebook. The change occurred because Facebook
has a more mature feel and a cleaner look (King, 2009). Students also began caring
more about their social circles than their own persona (Clark, Lee & Boyer, 2007).
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As their circle of friends would grow, Facebook was a more reliable and presentable
platform to maintain their expanding social network (King, 2009).
Precollege and college students use social media as a source for information (Wang,
2011). A study in 2011 discussed the theory of cognition in terms of information
intake with precollege and college students when it comes to hypertextuality and
multitasking (Wang, 2011). Precollege and college students typically multitask
between doing work, socializing and processing information.
The results showed that online usage for socialization had no significant effect in
relation to cognition or academic performance. Social media can lead to what is
known as Internet procrastination, where students attempt to do work on their
computers but find themselves searching the web instead. This can affect the quality
of work, but the overall results showed that it did not have a significant impact on
student grade point averages. This study claims that students turn to social media to
take cognitive breaks due to the fact it does not require effortful thinking. Students
who are seeking a break from work but enjoy effortful thinking may turn to the
Internet to read interesting blog posts or articles.
As social media continues to grow and add new platforms, so too has the way people
utilize this technology (Johnson, 2011). Johnson, a blogger, describes her interaction
with social media as a working relationship. She hires social media to work for her
everyday to do things like expand her network, help her get published and help her
stay in touch with people both socially and professionally. She also claimed that
people turn to social media if they are trying to fill a void or if they are in search of
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something, much like the students in the previous article who are searching to find
their identity (Johnson, 2011; King, 2009). Rutledge (2012) explains in an article
how social media can be used to find a job. Social media offers people another outlet
to find information about an organization to see if it is the type of company they
would like to work for (Rutledge, 2012). Johnson utilizes social media sites like
LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook in various ways, much like FGCS could while
making their decision on whether to go to college and where to attend school.
Challenges Faced By FGCS
As previously mentioned, research shows that FGCS are entering colleges and
universities across the country at increased rates since the 1920’s (Orbe &
Groscurth, 2004). Roughly 30 percent of incoming freshman in the U.S. are first
generation, while 24 percent are both FGCS and low income (Landers, 2010). One
study discovered that FGCS have lower SAT scores than non-‐FGCS (Orbe &
Groscurth, 2004). Studies also show that FGC students tend to make the decision to
go to college later in their high school careers and typically choose less selective
schools (Orbe, 2004). As enrolled students, they tend to experience difficulties
adjusting to college life leading them to drop out without completing their degree
(Hageman, 2012). These unique challenges FGCS face during their college careers
makes their information seeking during the college decision-‐making process even
more important. The information they attain during this process in many cases
determines the success they will have at their chosen schools.
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Orbe and Groscurth (2004) looked at FGCS transitional phase from high school to
college through a co-‐cultural theoretical lens. This study was trying to understand
how members of underrepresented groups enact certain communicative practices
and what factors influence these practices. The results showed that FGCS altered
their communicative practices by avoiding conversations with non-‐FGCS about
family education levels. In the classroom FGCS tended to perform a co-‐cultural
strategy called overcompensation because they felt the need to earn their position
in the classroom even if they were completely lost in terms of the material.
The social issues that these FGCS come across were not the only complications that
arose during their college experience. In 2008, a study was designed by a college to
discover the barriers non-‐traditional students encounter before and during college
(Friess, 2008). This college has specific programs in place to help students enroll, as
well as aid them throughout their entire academic careers, but many students were
not utilizing the student aid (Friess, 2008). The study used a methodology called
symbolic interactionism, which focuses on the individual and how they act towards
objects and people that have meaning to them (Friess, 2008). In order to complete
the study, a sample of FGCS was assembled to participate in focus groups and fill out
questionnaires that asked questions about the specific barriers they faced
throughout their college experience (Friess, 2008). The results from this study
showed that family issues, financial needs and the overall pressure (Hageman,
2012) of completing their degree were the largest barriers these FGCS came across
through the higher education process (Friess, 2008).
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Not only are FGCS struggling with these barriers but, according to Orbe (2004), they
are also struggling to find their identities. Many FGCS are transitioning from high
school or full-‐time employment to the campus world, which for many can cause
identity issues as they attempt to adapt to their new environment (Orbe, 2004).
These students are also given the task of bridging their various worlds (home,
family, friends and college life), while attempting to maintain sufficient grades to
graduate (Orbe, 2004; Hageman, 2012).
In this study, Orbe (2004) used the communication theory of identity to diagnose
the identity crisis these FGCS experience. In order to acquire the necessary results,
13 focus groups were conducted with FGCS on six different campuses in three
midwestern states. The results showed that the overall construction of identities
amongst FGCS varied greatly in terms of student status. The centrality of student
identity was strongly influenced by the situational context and the type of campus.
Also, in contradiction with previous beliefs, FGCS did not find a sense of community
with other FGCS in similar circumstances. Instead, the greatest forms of influence in
terms of identity for these students came from their friends and roommates.
Another strong influence for FGC students beyond friends and family comes from
mentors (Wang, 2012). Research shows that teachers and students construct shared
meaning within the context of a student-‐teacher relationship through factors like
mutuality, affection and equality. Also, communication skills that are important to
normal friendships are also important to teacher-‐student relationships, which can
lead to positive outcomes for the both the students and the teachers. As students
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begin to open up to teachers, these educators take on the role of a mentor to help
increase student self-‐esteem and to also help them reach their full potential, which
in most cases includes college (Wang, 2012).
Many of the messages received from mentors competed with other messages from
family and friends (Wang, 2012). More often than not, FGCS experienced challenges
as various memorable messages from family, friends and mentors sent them in
opposing directions. The study also found that FGCS were willing to talk to their
mentors about academic issues but were reluctant to talk about any problems they
may be experiencing outside of the classroom.
An article written in the U.S. News & World Report discussed the campus resources
and programs that are available for FGCS (Hopkins, 2011). This article also
discussed different barriers FGCS may come across, some tips on where to look for
information and any surprises they may come across during their college careers.
The first section discusses where FGCS can find information to learn about what
college is. The article claims these students should talk to FGCS alumni, high school
counselors and high school teachers to get a better idea of what college is and how
beneficial it can be. If students are looking at a particular school, they should contact
the multicultural education office, student life office or the counseling services office
to find some support (Hopkins, 2011; Hageman, 2012). The surprises students may
face deal mostly with financial issues. Many FGCS look at schools without taking into
account the financial issues they may come across during their college careers
(Hopkins, 2011).
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In contrast, Hageman (2012) claims in order to avoid financial issues, many FGCS
look towards scholarships and grants to help them. It is vital for FGCS to seek out
information on college websites and ask questions by calling the financial aid offices
at different schools. After enrolling at a specific school, it is important for these
students to continue to ask questions when they are struggling. The services are
available and paid for, but are useless if not utilized.
An article written by Richard Greenwald in the Chronicle of Higher Education
(2012) gives great insight to a first-‐generation student’s mindset when deciding
whether or not to go to college. The majority of first-‐generation students at the end
of their high school careers haven’t even thought about college as an option; so, they
don’t consider it (Greenwald, 2012). A typical first-‐generation student works too
many hours at menial part-‐time jobs and is busy dealing with a complicated home
life. They don’t have time to deal with the process of applying to a school.
According to Greenwald, many first-‐generation students feel a sense of betrayal that
education upends. Coming from a blue-‐collar family gives them a different
perspective on life and especially education. They may ask themselves, “How far can
education really take you?” And “Is it worth the risk?” Sometimes, they even fear
college because it is different. Education exposes students to new ideas and creative
endeavors. Some first-‐generation students believe it will open them up and leaves
them vulnerable. This is a common blue-‐collar ideal.
Greenwald also says the inspiration to apply comes from many different sources like
high school counselors, parents and mentors. At this point the idea of college
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becomes real. The decision-‐making process has already begun. Now the student
must research the college process from application, to acceptance, to graduation.
FGCS Social Media & Social Capital
Social media has the potential to increase a person’s social capital, and in regards to
FGCS, the resources they obtain through this social capital can increase their
confidence and knowledge of the college application process (Wohn, Ellison, Kahn,
Fewins-‐Bliss & Gray, 2013). Social capital is the idea of having access to people who
are able to provide resources such as information and social support (Wohn, Ellison,
Kahn, Fewins-‐Bliss & Gray, 2013). Unlike non-‐FGCS, FGCS don’t have the luxury of
utilizing the social capital of their families. As Wohn (2013) explains on her blog,
“The majority of the time, FGCS come from low-‐income families, so they are at a
disadvantage in terms of both financial and social capital.” Social media has the
potential to fill this gap for FGCS by allowing them to network with people who may
be able to provide them with resources that their immediate family can’t provide.
According to Wohn et al. (2013), by using social media sites like LinkedIn, Twitter,
Facebook, etc. FGCS increase their social capital, which gives them the ability to
make contact with others who are knowledgeable about the college application
process so they can learn from them. Using survey data from high school students,
Wohn et al. (2013) found that the use of social media increased FGCS’ social capital
and increased their ability to connect with people that attended college and were
informed about the college application process. This amplified their college
aspirations and outlook on higher education in general.
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University Outreach & Student Decisions
This review has previously discussed the people and issues that may be influencing
FGCS’ decisions on whether to go to college or not, but what other factors play a role
in distinguishing which institution they want to enroll in? USCollegePlanning.com
explains the results of a survey conducted by the University of California, Los
Angeles (Hurtado, 2012). The survey was filled out by 203,967 first-‐year students at
270 different colleges and universities across the country.
These results explained which characteristics about a college or university play an
important role in the decision-‐making process prospective students go through.
Academic reputation played the largest role in influencing prospective students,
followed by the institution’s track record in helping graduates obtain good jobs
(Hurtado, 2012). The third most important factor was the financial aid assistance
that was offered to the student, which may play an even larger role with FGCS. And
finally, the fourth and fifth most important factors were if these prospective
students visited the campus and the total cost of attending that institution.
These statistics show the influence that colleges and universities have based on
their reputation, but many schools use more aggressive tactics beyond their name to
encourage prospective students to enroll at their institutions (Pidaparthy, 2011).
Schools are now using social media to interact with prospective students and inform
them about the various aspects of the institution. Pidaparthy (2011)claims social
media give students an uncensored look at the school through its student-‐produced
videos, blog posts and Facebook groups that allow incoming students with similar
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interests to connect long before they arrive on campus. Schools are even using
Twitter to send personal messages to students congratulating them on their
acceptance with attached videos from students and staff encouraging them to
research different programs on campus.
When discussing programs that schools have to offer, it is important to remember
those that pertain specifically to FGCS. In a 2003 study, Gullat, Yvette, and Wendy
looked at the success of academic outreach programs for underrepresented
students, and their findings echo pieces discussed here. They found that these
programs help establish role models or mentors for these underrepresented
students, which helped them progress. The close, caring relationship formed
between the student and mentor helps these students advance through their
academic programs. Many of these mentors act as counselors and academic coaches
to help them take that next step into higher education.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework for this study graws from James E. Grunig’s situational
theory of publics, the situational theory of problem solving and the theory of
planned behavior. Grunig proposed the situational theory of publics to explain when
and how people communicate and when communications aimed at people are most
likely to be effective (Hamilton, 1992). Each organization takes action in a specific
way to sell a product or service (Hamilton, 1992). These actions have an impact on
the greater public whether they realize it or not (Hamilton, 1992). This theory
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divides the public into different categories based on their awareness (Hamilton,
1992).
Austin and Halvorson (2008) used this theory to examine the knowledge, attitudes
and motivations of politically active college students. Specifically, they investigated
the degree to which students involved in politically active student groups perceive
constraints on their political involvement, the importance of political issues and
their involvement in political issues on a general level. Surveys were distributed
amongst a convenience sample of college students, and the results showed that
involvement, constraint recognition and problem recognition correlated
significantly with self-‐perceived political activity.
Kim and Grunig (2011) expanded on the situational theory of publics and created
the situational theory of problem solving. This theory builds on the situational
theory of publics by extending its reach beyond information acquisition to include
the three domains of information selecting, information giving and information
taking. This new theory increases the abstraction of the dependent variables from
information acquisition to a multivariate concept of communicative action in
problem solving. In comparison with the situational theory of publics, this theory
offers the ability to describe and explain the more complex phenomenon of
communicative actions like information selection and sharing among members of a
public.
A 2011 study looked at the various issues of organ donation through the theoretical
lens of the situational theory of problem solving. The study looked at the way health
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organizations were communicating with the public about organ donations and what
tools they were using to reach their target audience (Kim, Shen & Morgan, 2011).
The public was broken down into six different categories: information seeker,
information forefender, information permitting, information forwarding,
information sharing and information attending. The results showed that
information seeking can be enhanced by information providers in social networks.
These information behaviors played an important role in where the public found
their information and if they’d be willing to donate in the future.
For this study, I will use the situational theory of publics and the situational theory
of problem solving together, because they are interconnected. The situational theory
of publics will allow me to distinguish the FGCS as internal publics for universities.
Since the FGCS I will be interviewing and surveying are already attending classes at
American University (AU) and George Mason University (GMU) and have a
relationship with the organization, they are considered internal participants.
Students will think back to when they were external publics. When these FGCS were
external participants, they were performing their research on different schools and
in the process of making their decision of where they wanted to attend. The
situational theory of publics will help me track their evolution process of knowledge
as they move along the scale. The scale goes from non-‐public, to latent, to aware and
to active. These FGCS may have spent time on each level or they may have skipped
certain levels throughout this process.
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Then I will use situational theory of problem solving to guide the next step of the
study. The situational theory of problem solving deals with the assumption that
most human behavior is motivated by problem solving (Kim & Grunig, 2011). In
regards to this study, the problem for FGCS is their lack of resources as they make
their decision. The situational theory of problem solving will guide the study when
diagnosing what information they are selecting, whether this information is from
social media or not, and how they perceive the information.
As the FGC participants move up the scale, they will be acquiring information about
AU and GMU and becoming more knowledgeable about the university. The
situational theory of problem solving will guide my study as I discover how these
FGCS processed this information and then how they acted based on their knowledge
of this new information. I will learn where this certain information was found and
find out if the location of the information had any impact on the mental digestion
process.
The next step will be to look at how these FGCS acted on the recent knowledge they
gained about AU and GMU. This process deals with the theory of planned behavior
and how the amount of knowledge a person has on a certain topic impacts their
decision to act. In this case, how will the information they received about AU or GMU
impact their decision to enroll?
The theory of planned behavior discusses the knowledge base of an individual and
diagnoses their plan of action based on what they know (Wheeless, Witt, Maresh,
Bryand, & Schrodt, 2011). A 2011 study using this theory was conducted to
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determine the effect instructor credibility and their communication behaviors had
on students’ intentions to persist in school. This study looked at communication
behaviors such as nonverbal immediacy, enthusiasm and homophily since these
attributes typically contribute to a positive student-‐teacher relationship.
Methods
In order to achieve the best results, this study was conducted using both qualitative
and quantitative strategies. The qualitative data was acquired through in-‐depth
interviews with current students from AU and GMU. Nine students were
interviewed total from a convenience sample, six from AU and three from GMU. Of
these undergraduate students, which ranged from ages 18-‐22, seven were female
and two were male. Recruitment officers from both AU and GMU placed a
description of the research in a weekly online newsletter that was sent to FGCS
every week for a month. Students who were willing to participate made contact.
These in-‐depth interviews ranged from 20-‐30 minutes and were conducted to delve
more deeply into the step-‐by-‐step process these students experienced in deciding if
to go to college and then where to go, while also looking at the role social media
played. Basic questions were asked about the decision-‐making process in general.
Then more specific questions were addressed to diagnose the impact social media
played.
In order to acquire quantitative data, an online survey was created and distributed
to as many FGCS as possible from AU and GMU. Recruitment officers from both
schools placed the link and information about the survey in a weekly online
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newsletter that was distributed to FGCS every week for a month. From this
convenience sample, 55 students responded from both of these schools. Of these
respondents, 32 percent were male and 68 percent were female. In regards to
academic year, 14 percent were freshman, 18 percent sophomores, 37 percent
juniors and 31 percent seniors. Students took it upon themselves to share the link
with other FGCS they knew. Basic questions were asked about the college decision-‐
making process in general. Then more specific questions were addressed to
diagnose the impact social media played. Other questions also looked to identify the
specific types of social media these FGCS used.
Qualitative Results
From Awareness To Action
Currently, these FGCS are considered internal publics because they are students at
their respective universities. In order to obtain the necessary information, these
FGCS were asked to think back to when they were external publics beginning their
journey towards college. Out of the nine interviewed FGCS, six claimed they always
knew they were going to college. Many said something similar to one of the male
respondents from GMU. “It wasn’t a decision. It was more of a fact, like the way
you’d go to elementary school or high school. That was my parents’ outlook from the
beginning.” A female student from AU claimed, “I always knew I was going to go to
college. It’s what my parents worked for. Like my purpose was to go to college.”
The other three students were always aware of college but didn’t make their official
decision to pursue it until middle school. A male FGCS from AU said, “I decided I
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wanted to go in 8th grade of middle school. I came to the conclusion that no one
would pay the rent for me and I would have to pay for myself.” The other two
females from GMU had similar situations since they were a part of a program called
the Early Identification Program (EIP), which is a preparatory program of GMU that
provides educational resources for middle school and high schools students in
Northern Virginia. One female said, “I decided I would go [to college] around 7th
grade when I was introduced to the Early Identification Program. I’m the first in my
family to even try to go to college. This was an opportunity to talk to people who
actually knew how to get there and what steps I needed to take.” This shows that all
of these FGCS were active publics by the end of middle school in terms of their
decision to go to college.
Sources Used In College Research
As active publics, these FGCS were beginning their decision-‐making process on
where to go to college. What resources did they use? Out of the nine interviewed
students, each student claimed they exhausted many options online such as College
Board, College Prowler, The Princeton Review and individual college websites. One
student said, “I found out about AU just from searching midsized colleges and AU
popped up and websites like College Prowler and College Board were really helpful.”
Another FGCS said, “I used to use College Board a lot! Just searching and doing the
searches where you put what you want and like certain things come up.”
A few FGCS also utilized personal connections to current or previous students as
well as others at AU and GMU. “My absolute best friend growing up, her cousin went
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here [AU] and graduated last year. Also my boyfriend in high school’s dad is an AU
alum and he was going to AU and he applied early decision. So that was also
someone else who I heard about it from.” Another student from GMU made
connections through the EIP program. “I was connected with some of the other
students in EIP and some older Mason students,” she said. Students explained that
these resources were more effective than others because they trusted these
connections. Hearing positive details about each campus from someone else had
more of an impact than other resources.
As discussed before, a small group of students also received help from government-‐
funded programs like EIP and Upward Bound. These programs helped them
throughout the college research process and provided them with mentors to guide
them along the way. “The connection with EIP helped me to connect with some
outside resources as well as scholarships I applied for with all my credentials.” The
student who was a part of the Upward Bound program said, “I did have Upward
Bound which is a federal program that’s for low-‐income or FGCS so the coordinator
did help me.”
Were FGCS Using Social Media In Their College Research?
All but one of the FGCS that were interviewed claimed that social media played a
role in their decision-‐making process. Facebook was the leading site in student
research. “I looked at AU’s Facebook page and I checked out their Greek life. I
definitely did that. I looked at any people that I knew who went to AU,” one female
student said. Another FGCS claimed that “just by looking at the 2015 AU Facebook
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page and looking at who was on it and seeing who was writing on the wall, it was
very easy for me to get a grasp of what kind of school it was.”
A male FGCS from GMU was impressed with the schools use of social media. He said,
“I would say from what Mason had to offer on their Facebook had an impact as well.
Obviously, it wasn’t as big then as it is now but once again the ambassadors did a
great job of posting pictures on Facebook and what not. They were on top of the
social media.” Another GMU student utilized Facebook to connect with others. “I
would send them [GMU students] a message basically out of curiosity just asking
about their major and do they like it [GMU]. What can you tell me about it? Could I
stop by sometime for you to give me a tour?” Another female student from AU
messaged a student over Facebook as well to get information about Greek life. She
said, “I did talk to someone from AU on Facebook, this girl who went to AU who lives
15 minutes from my house. She is a Delta Gamma here [AU].”
A female student from AU discussed how she used Facebook to socialize and
interact with others. “I ended up using it a lot,” she said. “I talked to a lot of people
through there and discussed all the random stuff like what are you bringing and
what do you need. Stuff like that.” Another FGCS had a similar experience; “They
[AU] have this Facebook page for prospective students so I was able to talk to a lot
of them. I got a great feel for the students.” Another AU student claimed she didn’t
even use Facebook until her college search. “I didn’t ever use Facebook until right
before I went to school. The first thing I did on Facebook was join my AU class
group. I found all these girls that I would become friends with later on there.”
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A few FGCS did use different types of social media beyond Facebook. Three students
used YouTube to find information. One male said, “I went to YouTube and looked at
college tour videos and interviews with professors.” Another female student said,
“They [AU] had one thing that I specifically remembered and that was their videos.
AU had great videos of students and professors and I thought that was really cool.”
The last student said, “You could see some pretty goofy videos of prospective
students submitting their video applications. You could see real time who your
incoming classmates would be. It’s a great way Mason connects with prospective
students.”
Another FGCS even went as far as using Instagram for her college research. “I would
look up different hashtags on Instagram like American University hashtags or
student hashtags to see a students perspective of like pictures and the social scene.”
Impact Social Media Played In Decision-Making Process
Seven out of the eight students who used social media claimed that it had a
substantial impact on their decision of where to go. “It was pretty impactful,” one
FGCS from GMU said. “In the group, everyone’s posts were like very exciting about
being a Patriot. I was in a triple so I reached out to my roommates. We were always
communicating and we were always really friendly. It made me want to come and
enjoy myself. Those positive posts made me more optimistic about being a student.”
Another student from GMU said, “Yes, because it allowed me to get a better
understanding of the campus as well as the student body that I was not able to get
from advertisements of other universities.” He then added, “I don’t remember any
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social media from any of the other institutions but I do remember what I saw from
Mason.” A FGCS from AU said, “I think social media impacted my decision a lot. It
was just nice to have that community there on Facebook.”
Two students interviewed were from out of state and claimed that YouTube and
Facebook allowed them to see the campus when they were financially not able to
visit. One of these students said, “I did go on YouTube though and looked at college
tour videos and interviews with professors. I looked at every school I applied to
online just so I could see what it looked like.”
Another student claimed, “It had a good and a bad influence. I just kind of compared
everyone who was on this page to my friends from home and it was just completely
different. I was just making generalizations but that’s what I was getting from it.
These kids are very wonky.”
Quantitative Results
Fifty-‐five FGCS responded to the survey. As expected, 80 percent of the respondents
use Facebook on a daily basis followed by YouTube at 56 percent and Twitter at 40
percent. When asked what they use social media for in this multiple answer
question, 80 percent said to socialize, while 48 percent of the respondents said to
keep up with the news, to find information about organizations and to pass the time.
When asked how they found out about the college they currently attend, 40 percent
said from a family or friend followed by 28 percent who said the college website.
None of the surveys students discovered their college over social media but this
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doesn’t mean it didn’t impact their decision-‐making process later on. When asked if
they discussed college details with friends over social media, 52 percent said they
did, while 48 percent said they did not. When asked what topics they discussed,
some said classes, finances, the college reputation, applications and school visits.
When asked if they felt social media played a role in their decision-‐making process,
32 percent said yes, while 68 percent no.
Discussion
As you can see, the findings from the quantitative survey contradict the results from
the qualitative interviews. Seven out of the nine interviewed FGCS believed social
media had an impact on their decision-‐making process, but only 32 percent of
survey respondents agreed. Over half of the surveyed students did claim that they
discussed college related issues with friends over social media, which may have
impacted their decision in some way. One possible explanation for this is that the
survey did not convey the various ways social media could have impacted their
decision well enough for the respondents to understand. Those interviewed were
able to elaborate on their answers giving them more time to think about the
question. Later on in the interview, they realized social media played a more
significant role than they originally thought.
Consistent with the situational theory of publics, all FGCS were active in their search
for information once they made the definitive decision that they wanted to go to
college. In addition, consistent with the situational theory of problem solving, the
information FGCS acquired, which in many cases came from social media, helped
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them in making their final decisions. Finally, as would be predicted by the theory of
planned behavior, once FGCS obtained enough information, they made their final
decision to go to either AU or GMU.
These FGCS used social media in many different ways to learn about each particular
school. Many used Facebook, which the survey showed as the most used social
media site by FGCS. These FGCS joined “prospective student” pages and “accepted
student” pages to interact with students and look at pictures of the students and the
campus to see if either AU or GMU was a good fit for them. A few FGCS also used
Facebook to message students they have never even met just to ask them about
their college experience thus far. Others messaged students to talk about what to
bring, what they may forget and different activities on campus for prospective
students.
Other FGCS used YouTube, which the survey showed as the second most used social
media site by FGCS, to view video tours of the campuses and interviews with current
students and professors. GMU posts the video applications of prospective students
onto YouTube giving others the opportunity to view them and get an idea of the type
of students that go there, which is something that at least one FGCS claimed was an
effective way for GMU to interact with prospective students. Another student
claimed Instagram played a role in her decision-‐making process. She used hashtags
like #americanuniversity and #AU to see pictures of the campus and also students
who were taking pictures of themselves and their friends. This helped give her an
idea of the types of students that attended AU.
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All prospective students, not only FGCS, may be using social media in similar ways,
but the previous example is unique in regards to FGCS. As previously stated, three of
the FGCS that were interviewed were from out of state and claimed that YouTube,
Facebook and Instagram allowed them to see the campus when they were
financially not able to visit. Examples like this show social media may be helping to
bridge the gap between those financially well off and those who are not, who are
typically FGCS. They took advantage of social media as a visual resource and it
played a significant role in their final decision.
Four of the FGCS that were interviewed also discussed connecting with current
students at either AU or GMU over social media to get their personal opinion of the
school. This is another great example of the difference between FGCS and non-‐FGCS.
Since non-‐FGCS are not the first person in their immediate family to go to college,
there is someone close to them who they can go to if they have questions. FGCS do
not have this luxury; so, these four students made the effort to reach out to people
over social media in order to find some answers.
Colleges and universities must take note that social media allows them not only to
connect with FGCS in ways that were not possible before, but also allows to aid
these students who are in need of help. By using social media, outreach programs
have the opportunity to interact with students in a forum where they are
comfortable. They must realize that FGCS are utilizing social media to learn more
about the schools’ students, campus life, programs and professors. By uploading
pictures and videos onto various social media sites, creating Facebook groups and
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appointing current students to be available for questions, certain schools will gain
the upper hand in acquiring more prospective FGCS.
What should they bring? How should they apply? Who can they call to ask about
loans or scholarships? All of these are potential questions that FGCS may be asking
themselves. By placing information on social media, this will greatly help FGCS
throughout this process. Based on the results of this study, outreach programs can
create a social media strategy to target FGCS and increase their chances of having
these students enroll at their schools.
Despite the important contributions of this study, there are some limitations that
should be kept in mind. Specifically, this study used a convenience sample of
students from American University and George Mason University for the both the
qualitative and quantitative research. With a larger and more representative group
of respondents, a researcher will gather more definitive results. Thus, an important
direction for future research is to replicate this study with a larger, more
representative sample drawn from a wider variety of college campuses.
Conclusion
Social media was not the only information source these FGCS used by any means,
but overall it is clear that it did play a role in their decision-‐making processes. Their
familiarity with the social media sites pushed these students to discover its uses
beyond just socialization. They began to use it to seek out information. As one
student put it, “It’s almost like if you’re not finding information at home you’re going
to go elsewhere. Social media is the place to go.”
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Many of these FGCS were determined to find answers and they exhausted all
options. Social media was one of those options and, in the end, most of them had
used it in some way even if they didn’t realize it. Even those students from GMU who
were involved in the government funded EIP program, which helped them greatly,
found ways to utilize social media to help them connect with others. Colleges and
universities around the world have an opportunity to utilize a free resource to
connect with not only FGCS but all students. Prospective students, especially FGCS,
are seeking alternate resources to find information about college. By taking
advantage of this tool, colleges and universities can reach many more prospective
students and help those who are in need of information.
This study shows Facebook is the most used social media site by FGCS and it should
be treated as such by colleges and universities using it as an outreach tool. Schools
should continue to create Facebook pages and groups, but they should also have
current students available to chat with prospective students, especially FGCS who
are seeking guidance. They should post pictures and videos to provide visuals for
these FGCS who are not financially able to visit. YouTube would be another great
place to post these videos and it would also provide a link, making it even easier to
share with others. Even sound slideshows, which are very easy to produce, could be
an effective way to provide visuals for FGCS.
The ultimate goal for a college and university is to provide FGCS with as much
information and interaction as possible on a platform where they feel comfortable.
The results from this study show that social media is that platform. The few schools
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already doing this, like AU and GMU, have successfully helped those FGCS struggling
with their decision-‐making process. By getting active on social media, other colleges
and universities can make a difference and help FGCS succeed.
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APPENDIX
Interview Questions 1) When did you decide that you wanted to go to college? Why? 2) Did anyone have a strong influence on you when you were deciding to go to
college or not? 3) Are a lot of your friends in college as well? 4) How did you hear about Flagler? 5) Why did you decide Flagler was the best place for you to go to school? 6) Did you hear about Flagler online or through social media? 7) Did you visit Flagler while you were deciding where you wanted to go? 8) Did anyone from Flagler reach out to you to inform you about certain
programs they had and such? 9) Was your decision process hard or easy? 10) Did you find a lot of information about Flagler online? 11) What attracted you the most about Flagler? 12) What social media sites do you currently use? 13) Which social media site do you use the most? 14) Did social media help you connect with anyone from Flagler while you were
deciding if you wanted to go there? 15) Did social media play a role at all in your decision making process? 16) Do you use social media more for entertainment, connecting with friends,
finding information? 17) How often are you on social media everyday?
