I'm sure many of you have heard the recent story of Harvard rescinding offer letters to several students due to social media activity the administration deemed inappropriate. A few reports that stemmed from the news noted that many admissions reps turn to social media to learn more about their applicants and around 40% said it left a negative result on their application. Has anyone thought of completely deleting all of their social accounts prior to applying to law school just to be safe?
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53 comments
It is also worth mentioning that the Harvard students that had their offers rescinded posted extremely racist and offensive images. Hopefully, that content is much worse than anything the average law school applicant has on their Facebook page.
I think making your settings private is the best option. Honestly, your Facebook page could be a plus if you have pictures of you volunteering in the community, helping those in need, and participating in extracurricular activities. It really does not need to be a negative thing.
@gregoryalexanderdevine723 I don't know -- I heard of a girl last year at UVA getting dinged because of her dachshund. ;)
"Hi, yes, we see here on Instagram that your dog hardly even has legs. What's up with that? It's gonna be a no from us."
Out of curiosity, can law schools view any part of your profile if you already have the privacy settings up pretty high? I only use facebook and have nothing to hide but naturally keep mine pretty private if you are not my friend.
@danielmoshesieradzki129 said:
It is also worth mentioning that the Harvard students that had their offers rescinded posted extremely racist and offensive images. Hopefully, that content is much worse than anything the average law school applicant has on their Facebook page.
I think making your settings private is the best option. Honestly, your Facebook page could be a plus if you have pictures of you volunteering in the community, helping those in need, and participating in extracurricular activities. It really does not need to be a negative thing.
+1
I don't know anyone who has their full name on any of their social media besides Facebook and that can be easily changed and made private. Admissions people aren't like, computer hackers, they're not gonna be able to find out that you're cutiepie123 on Insta. Google your first/last name and search your first/last name on social media and if you don't like what pops up then delete it.
In addition, the Harvard students were in a sub fb page where they were the ones to post these extremely offensive memes which goes against all advice you're given regarding social media. Thus irresponsiblity and wrecklessness only reaped what they now sow.
Honestly, I'm also applying this semester and I've made the choice to leave my social media up presence up. I have strict privacy settings and have been very careful with what I post. Overall, I think if you are a clean writer, make clean posts, and do the tag request feature for your timeline, so long as your profile pics and posts are not crazy, you should be fine.
I'm probably going to deactivate my account but I'm not going to permanently delete anything. I grew up heeding my parents warnings about the information you put out there, so I'm not particularly worried about my social media accounts. If you have things that you think may be questionable or make you look bad then definitely suspend or delete your social media accounts.
I'm personally keeping mines because this is how I keep in touch with some old friends from high school and places I worked. I'm not too worried about it because my family always told me that jobs and schools will view your social media so, I just am careful/mindful about what I post. I just really post "basic stuff" for example family pics, school pics, news articles that I find interesting and stuff. It's your choice though which one you feel is best for you though.
@gregoryalexanderdevine723 said:
It's almost like your comment contradicts itself, haha. At least how I read it.
I can see how the comment could be read as a contradiction. However, I was speaking in terms of my personal assessment of risk vs. reward. I personally believe the risk of my account being red flag is low though it is still possible. Therefore, to me the reward of having social media (family, friends, information) is worth the risk for me. Yet, I can understand how for someone else this may be different.
I don't think anyone is suggesting deleting their account to cover up something. I just think they are saying better safe than sorry. Plus, some don't want crazy but very possible things to occur such as their account getting hacked and crazy posts being made without their knowledge/consent. That being seen by admission officers could hurt their admissions. I personally will not delete my account because I use it to be social with family and friends and see no significant harm in keeping it. However, I do understand the concern and see why people choose to be either private/delete their account.
Lots of good points, @gregoryalexanderdevine723 said the only thing that matters though, it can't help get you in but it can keep you out. Even of there's a 1 percent chance that an admissions rep sees you posted about Hilary and happens to be a Trump fan, their objectivity might crack. I'm deactivating FB right now, for application purposes and because honestly Facebook is a huge timesuck, don't need that anymore :)
This debate re surfaces every year. I'm a nerd so I've sort of been on TLS/Reddit LS subforms for nearly 7 years. Keep your profile if you want, it probably won't matter. I'm a big fan of just straight up destiny. If you're dumb enough to have pics and posts that may offend someone, be prepared to pay the price. When professionals who have been consulting for 15+ years tell me it's not worth it, I listen. I just lack the hubris of those who think they know better.
From what I understand is that they aren't CSI'ing your account. They are just looking for bozos and clearly problem applicants. A beer with a friend won't keep you out of H. A pic of sniffing coke off a hooker's ass might.... Use your judgement
All I'm saying is, nothing they see if going to get you in. I'm a 6'2 black man, I just want to be seen as a number to be honest. That's for me.....
@nessak130467 said:
Sometimes they only link some events on social media too and if I have questions or want more insight into something for my applications, I don't want to miss out on that.
Ooo very good point.
@gregoryalexanderdevine723 said:
@tristandesinor505 said:
I like @nessak130467 's idea of deactivating for a time. I also don't think I would have anything offensive but everyone is subjective and you never know what tiny thing might make a school representative question you. Working in HR, we creeped on applicants pages all the time and you'd be surprised at what little nuances could put a hiring manager off. Especially if it's down to two excellent candidates and they are looking for any little thing to distinguish the two. Like @gregoryalexanderdevine723 said nothing to gain, everything to lose.
Like I said: Working with an admissions consultant. Was told without a doubt to delete social media accounts when applying. They aren't looking for pics of you at the soup kitchen, though, that would be heart warming. They're just trying to get a better picture of you. And if your numbers are good, let them be the only picture of you in their head: the perfect candidate.
I've also heard it put this way: They aren't going to find something on FB that gets you in. They can, however, find something that can keep you out, or at the very least, just make you a less desirable candidate.
Either way, no matter what you decide, I think you'll be fine. Short of any pictures with Dillon Roof holding a Confederate Flag, I think they'll still accept you if the numbers are right.
LOL about the Roof statement--true. Yeah better safe than sorry regarding the question of to delete or not. A main reason I'm inclined to keep my accounts is also because some law schools have great info sessions and focus groups throughout the months of October to February. Chicago had some really cool sessions. HLS had some round table webinars with their admissions office w/Q&A. Law schools will have different orgs (and admissions offices) host different interactive student calls and webinars too. The only way to see a lot of the smaller group events (sometimes short of you regularly searching all the blogs and websites for such things) is to check on Facebook. Sometimes they only link some events on social media too and if I have questions or want more insight into something for my applications, I don't want to miss out on that.
I've already deleted Facebook (mostly because I just didn't like it) and I plan to set my Twitter to private just to be safe. Instagram is staying public because my dog is essentially my Instagram's fuzzy overlord and I mean, I don't think a dachshund is going to hurt my chances of getting into a school. Basically the short answer is that erring on the side of caution really can't hurt. I also like the previous comment about being super selective about what gets posted. Thinking critically about what you end up putting out into the social media universe is never really a bad thing, law school or not! I'm glad you asked this because it's something I've been tossing around for a few months now.
@tristandesinor505 said:
I like @nessak130467 's idea of deactivating for a time. I also don't think I would have anything offensive but everyone is subjective and you never know what tiny thing might make a school representative question you. Working in HR, we creeped on applicants pages all the time and you'd be surprised at what little nuances could put a hiring manager off. Especially if it's down to two excellent candidates and they are looking for any little thing to distinguish the two. Like @gregoryalexanderdevine723 said nothing to gain, everything to lose.
Like I said: Working with an admissions consultant. Was told without a doubt to delete social media accounts when applying. They aren't looking for pics of you at the soup kitchen, though, that would be heart warming. They're just trying to get a better picture of you. And if your numbers are good, let them be the only picture of you in their head: the perfect candidate.
I've also heard it put this way: They aren't going to find something on FB that gets you in. They can, however, find something that can keep you out, or at the very least, just make you a less desirable candidate.
Either way, no matter what you decide, I think you'll be fine. Short of any pictures with Dillon Roof holding a Confederate Flag, I think they'll still accept you if the numbers are right.
I like @nessak130467 's idea of deactivating for a time. I also don't think I would have anything offensive but everyone is subjective and you never know what tiny thing might make a school representative question you. Working in HR, we creeped on applicants pages all the time and you'd be surprised at what little nuances could put a hiring manager off. Especially if it's down to two excellent candidates and they are looking for any little thing to distinguish the two. Like @gregoryalexanderdevine723 said nothing to gain, everything to lose.
Also, if you are using Facebook, you can go to your settings and make it where people will need your permission to tag you in anything such as a post or picture.
Yup, I plan on deleting/editing all of my social media. I don't have anything that's necessarily "bad" but better than safe than sorry.
ETA: I'm working with a well known admissions consulting company and they have recommended deleting my social media accounts. Including Top Law School posts.
@gregoryalexanderdevine723 said:
I havent had social media in years, my wife and I used to compete in body building competitions, and most of our friends were in the same situation so every time i opened IG it was half naked people flexing, and we decided maybe its time to focus on better things lol. But yes I seen people not get jobs because of IG or Fb i mean that picture rocking sunglasses in a night club drinking water with the facial expression of melting butter screams crackhead... who know maybe school frown upon those things if not delete at least clean it up. take a picture with a dolphin or a president, well not trump that may ruin your chances.
I can see that. I delete my FB and remake it every few years for that reason. In college it was just everyone "flexing" in the club or doing something school-related where I was. Afterwards, it was just everyone from my job complaining about the same stuff.
And lmao of the description of the crackhead. I'm just imagining a few people who might fit this description. They're in Finance mostly and not going to law school. So it's all gravy for them, haha.
@35684 said:
I have no idea if they can see when it was deactivated but I'm sure they can find out during the application process by asking you why you don't have social media, when you deleted it, etc. and it probably wouldn't be best to lie haha also it probably wouldn't be good to say I deleted it right before applying and they ask why and you essentially say so you guys wouldn't see anything and deny or rescind my admission so this really is a tricky topic @gregoryalexanderdevine723
I'm starting to think we are extrapolating a little too much here, haha. There's some threads on TLS of common interview questions from the top schools, and they don't ever seem to ask why you don't have a FB/Twitter/Insta. Then again, you never know.
I havent had social media in years, my wife and I used to compete in body building competitions, and most of our friends were in the same situation so every time i opened IG it was half naked people flexing, and we decided maybe its time to focus on better things lol. But yes I seen people not get jobs because of IG or Fb i mean that picture rocking sunglasses in a night club drinking water with the facial expression of melting butter screams crackhead... who know maybe school frown upon those things if not delete at least clean it up. take a picture with a dolphin or a president, well not trump that may ruin your chances.
I have no idea if they can see when it was deactivated but I'm sure they can find out during the application process by asking you why you don't have social media, when you deleted it, etc. and it probably wouldn't be best to lie haha also it probably wouldn't be good to say I deleted it right before applying and they ask why and you essentially say so you guys wouldn't see anything and deny or rescind my admission so this really is a tricky topic @gregoryalexanderdevine723