Item saved to your backpack!

Law school admissions officers are the most likely, by far, to search online for more information about their applicants, according to recent Kaplan Test Prep surveys of admissions officers at leading law schools, business schools and colleges.

"Despite jokes and negative stereotyping of lawyers, the reality is that the legal community takes ethics among its members very seriously," Jeff Thomas, director of pre-law programs at Kaplan Test Prep, said in a statement. "You not only have to be accepted to a state bar to practice law, but once you are admitted, unethical behavior can lead to your disbarment, stripping you of your ability to practice. Not many other professions have that kind of enforceable code of conduct, so it's natural that law schools screen more stringently and more often."

Fully 41 percent of law school admissions officers have Googled an applicant to check for more information about them, compared to 27 percent of business school admissions officers and 20 percent of college admissions officers.

Similarly, 37 percent of law school admissions officers have looked an applicant up on Facebook or on another social networking site, compared to 22 percent of business school admissions officers and 24 percent of college admissions officers.

And in doing so, they often find information that hurts an applicant's chances of admission.

Thirty-two percent of law school admissions officers who looked online for information on an applicant said they found something that hurt that applicant's chances of admission, compared to 14 percent of business school admissions officers and 12 percent of college admissions officers.

"These findings make sense in context with what we consistently hear from law school admissions officers, which is that while admissions is based on high LSAT scores, strong GPAs and compelling personal statements, an overarching theme to the entire application is whether an applicant is able to exercise good judgment," Thomas said. "Clearly, an applicant's digital trail can be an indicator of whether or not he or she possesses this quality."

More news and info from Schools.com:

• How facebook is reshaping college admissions [Infographic]
• Getting in: Are finances a factor in college admissions?
• How social media can help—and hurt—your professional prospects