Prospective college students need adequate access to information about college in order to engage in successful post-secondary transitions, and social networks (online and offline) play an important role in this process. In a study of low-income first year undergraduates, we found that during the college transition, students benefitted the most if they had contacts with college knowledge in their existing face to face and online social networks. Students lamented that college information shared via social media often focused only on positive aspects of the college experience and thus failed to provide a more comprehensive portrait. However, once enrolled, students replicated the very same information-sharing behaviors with their high school friends that had frustrated them as prospective students. Perceived norms around social media participation prevented participants from sharing multi-faceted, less positive perspectives on campus life with their high school contacts, a pattern that may contribute to persistent patterns of unequal access to post-secondary education.
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