As a US college sports scholarship agency, we’ve worked with thousands of talented athletes from around the world, helping them secure life-changing opportunities at U.S colleges and universities. But in today’s digital age—and especially under shifting visa policies—your social media presence can mean the difference between getting recruited or getting rejected.

Your social media habits matter more than ever, and new visa checks could impact international athletes like you.

 

⚠️ Your social media can be a showcase—and a risk

Whether you’re already talking to a coach or just starting your journey, know this: college coaches do check your social media. So do admissions departments. And now, so do visa officers.

What you post—photos, memes, comments, likes and retweets—paints a picture of who you are, whether that’s accurate or not. That picture can either support your dream of becoming a student-athlete or destroy it.

We have had multiple cases of students going through the recruiting process and then their offers being revoked purely because of the way that they handle themselves on social media.

Before your recruitment starts, we advise you to clean up your social media of anything that would be considered inappropriate or anything you would’t want a coach to see. This includes any photos of you consuming alcohol – this can be the number 1 reason why coaches will stop recruiting you.

Tip: Consider making your personal accounts private and creating new accounts purely to post your athletic results, training schedule and anything else relevant to your sport.

 

🔎 Coaches are watching

College coaches want more than skill. They want an all-round athlete. They are looking out for signs that you’ll represent their program well—online and offline! 

Inappropriate jokes, offensive language, controversial political rants, or reckless behaviour (even as a joke) can raise red flags to coaches.

Tip: Before you post, ask yourself: Would I be okay with a college coach, admissions officer, or embassy official seeing this?

 

🌍 For international athletes: The visa rules just got tougher

Rumours of new visa processing policies introduced during the Trump administration hint that social media checks will now be a standard part of the student visa application process.

This could mean:

• You may have to submit your social media handles from the last five years.
• U.S. immigration officials can review everything you’ve posted publicly.
• Any post that hints at violence, political extremism, drug use, or even sarcasm that’s hard to interpret could lead to your visa being delayed—or denied.

Even reposting or liking controversial content could be misread and raise security concerns. To avoid this, here are 5 tips for student-athletes that we encourage you to do: 

1. Clean it up: Go back through your accounts and delete anything questionable—swearing, alcohol, arguments, suggestive images, political views.
2. Keep it positive: Highlight your achievements, workouts, team moments, and training progress. Show gratitude and humility.
3. Think twice before engaging: Don’t get pulled into online fights, even in comments. It’s not worth it.
4. Be consistent: Use your real name or something close to it. This helps coaches find and trust your profile.
5. Stay informed: Immigration and visa policies change. Stay updated—and don’t assume your social media is private or irrelevant.

 

🧭 Our promise to you

We’re not here to police your voice, just to protect your future. We want to help student-athletes clean up their social media, prepare for visa interviews, and present themselves in the best light possible to U.S. institutions so that the process is as quick and stress free as possible.

You’ve worked too hard to lose your dream over one careless post.

 

Need help reviewing your online presence?

Reach out to our team. We’re here to guide you every step of the way— on your academics, athletics and online.