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Related Discussions
Email address on resume- Need advice for very common name
stephgmeister
Alum Member
My name is Stephanie Gonzalez. I have been using the email address of stephgmeister[at]gmail.com since the beginning of time. However, this may seem adolescent and ridiculous because "meister" is not apart of my last name at all, it was just one of the options that wasn't taken. Also, this email works great with the space I have on the header of my resume. Does anyone advice against using this email address?
Comments
Hey Stephanie. Yeah I don't think it's a good idea to use that email. Edu emails are generally ideal or something that has your name and maybe an underscore.
Hey - I created a new email address with my first and last name - you know, something generic and professional sounding. But, like you, I also have my regular email address. So, what I did is when I created my new email address I just forwarded all those emails to my regular email address. Gmail makes it easy to do this.
Agreed with @Sprinkles, it'd be best to use just your name or with an underscore, middle initial or a short number if you need to. I'd agree that the meister could come across as unprofessional.
@stephgmeister I'm going to be in the minority on this one and say it doesn't really matter. Law schools aren't really going to be using your e-mail address as a factor in admissions. You could easily create a new one for LS apps, but I don't think it's absolutely necessary.
You'd be surprised. In theory it may seem like something that isn't a deal breaker but adcomms look for anything to nitpick at your application. Not because they like being jerks, but they need something to compare you to. Especially for the t14s where they have a decent application pool of similar stats, they will find absolutely anything to throw your application in the trash.
Get a new email, with your first and last name and maybe your birthdate
Yeah it probably doesn't matter whatsoever in your case.
Thinking the adcoms are looking for reasons to ding you is incorrect. Admissions want to admit you! And they aren't going to ding you because of your very inoffensive email address. If it were PartyGurl1995, I might be concerned...
All the same, I would probably create a new one or use your school's email. Having an email that matches your name may prove to be advantageous in other unexpected ways.
@"Alex Divine" totally agree with both points, especially that admissions aren't looking to ding you based on your e-mail address. Meister could have been an unofficial name that she goes by e.g. stepparent's name, mom's maiden name, adoptive parent's name... Schools wouldn't know and wouldn't care.
thanks for your advice! I don't have a middle name so I'll try to think of something. My other email is Stephanie.gonzalez2991[at]gmail because 1992 was already taken and I don't think that email is any better....
Does it have to be Gmail? If not, check out Gmx's email platform. I used them to make my law school email address and was able to get my name "AlexanderDivine" without any trouble. Granted, your name is more common, but since Gmx isn't that popular, who knows?
Still, I honestly think your first gmail address is perfectly fine. We're probably just all suffering from the neuroses of future law students. I know it's got me examining everything on my apps as well.
Excellent points!
Of course adcomms want to admit students, but when it comes down to comparing one application to another, it makes sense to look at all aspects of the application and yes, even an email that looks silly can throw them off. Why do you think people deactivate their social media during application periods? I've heard people say something along the lines of "My facebook is super boring but I'm afraid they'll find something from 2011 that I wrote while I was drunk." It's all about eliminating even tiny chances of turning off the adcomm. However, speaking specifically about OP's email, yeah it's not offensive to say the least, but because there's even a tiny chance it can hurt your chances, it's best to avoid the situation.
I can't pretend to know what's going on in the mind of most adcoms, but from what I've read and seen online, this is totally a nonissue, barring any clearly immature email addresses like "XBlink182FanX@hotmail.com"
I also respectfully disagree with your assessment that
From what I've read, it's the exact opposite and they look for every reason to put your app in the acceptance pile.
However, I do agree with your point that it's always best to avoid anything that can potentially hurt your app. But I just don't imagine something as trivial as an email address having any impact on an adcom's decision. But I suppose my own lack of imagination isn't really that good of a reason to base a decision on.
I just don't want people to have one more reason to be anxious about when applying.
Once again I'm not saying adcomms are hungry animals out to get you. Avoid sticky situations when it comes to your apps at all costs. I think we both can agree on that matter.
I'd say it won't matter at all in law school applications. The schools are actually desparate to raise their numbers by any means necessary and have little incentive to care about your email address. Afterall, they have a career advising office to make your resume look better before your send it out to actual employers with their name on it.
However, you probably will want to change it eventually for professional reasons so you might as well do it now and get it on your law school application resume too.
Hi Stephanie,
I work in higher ed and have served on admissions committees. I honestly wouldn’t worry about that address. It just looks like you might have a married name (Meister) or alternative family name. Nbd. We DO raise our eyebrows at obviously unprofessional names (likitslamitsukit16[at]gmail dot com, for example), but yours is basically inoffensive.
Good luck out there!