Facebook, MySpace and Friendster — all are commonly used social-networking Web sites that millions of people visit on a daily basis, most of whom are either college- or high school-aged people. A lot of people have access to the information on these profiles, some of whom you may not want looking at your information — such as college admissions officers.

It’s clear from incidents in the past that University administrators will look to these sites for disciplinary reasons. Two years ago, the Office of Student conduct used Facebook pictures of students during disciplinary measures.

However, what about students who aren’t yet members of the University community?

They are seeking to be members of the Wolfpack family — do they know University admissions officers could be looking at their profiles to decide if they should be accepted to N.C. State?

We doubt it.

Admissions officers do have the right to look at the profiles of prospective students, but ethically they should not consider anything they see in determining the status of an applicant.

What people place on their social networking Web sites are a part of who they are as people. However, it’s more important to make decisions on an applicant’s status based on his or her academic portfolio.

According to Thomas Griffin, director of Admissions, admissions officers “don’t go seeking out information on students through social networks unless they need information on a particular applicant.”

Saying that Admissions has looked at profiles a few times, Griffin was vague on what information they look for on these sites, saying they look for “red flags.”

When it comes to being accepted or denied to college, admissions officers should judge prospective students solely on their academic credentials — whether those are grades, extracurricular activities, awards, essays or letters of recommendation.

If social-network profiles are going to be a part of the admissions process, then applicants must be aware of this up front. Applications could ask if students have these profiles, for example.

It’s time to refocus the attention to academic profiles, rather than the social network variety, during the admissions process.