Admissions Rescinded for Social Media?

[seacloud]

I'm a student that's now been accepted to a couple of excellent doctoral programs (STEM). However, an incident during the previous year has made me concerned if I'll be able to go to school anywhere.

Last year, I had been applying to medical schools, and had gotten a couple of offers. However, after getting accepted, I had a bout of depression, and made a post on a blog of mine that I had a history of anxiety/depression, and I wasn't sure if I could control myself completely. I also mentioned that I was seeing a therapist.

A couple of months later, someone who knew about my blog and knew where I was planning on going had sent the blog post to the med school I was planning on attending, and I got my offer rescinded for "unprofessionalism" and "violation of technical standards" (namely: "Candidates must possess the emotional health required for the full use of their intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients."). I think a part of it was that my remarks could be interpreted as suggesting that I was at some risk of harming myself or others. The med school figured out who I was based on matching information I provided on my blog about myself with my application materials.

I decided that I was no longer going to pursue medicine, as I had a budding interest in research and the incident was proof that mental illness is still heavily stigmatized in medicine.

I am not in that place psychologically now, but my fear is that someone could figure out who I was (I made a few posts on a different website re: grad school admissions but mentioned the incident, under a different username), and although I'm not telling anywhere where I'm going exactly, they could spam all the schools in the field that I'm applying for hoping that one of them had offered me admission, and rescind the offer. While my original post was of course deleted, that person may still have screenshots or archives.

Do grad schools rescind offers for what they see as "inappropriate" social media usage? Is what I posted grounds for rescinding an acceptance in a grad school context?

Edited February 7, 2018 by seacloud

[noncompliant94]

WOW. I am so, so sorry this happened to you. I have no clue how to answer your question but I just wanted to express what a horrendous case of discrimination this is. 

[Hope.for.the.best]

On 2/8/2018 at 2:13 AM, seacloud said:

I am not in that place psychologically now, but my fear is that someone could figure out who I was (I made a few posts on a different website re: grad school admissions but mentioned the incident, under a different username), and although I'm not telling anywhere where I'm going exactly, they could spam all the schools in the field that I'm applying for hoping that one of them had offered me admission, and rescind the offer. While my original post was of course deleted, that person may still have screenshots or archives.

Do grad schools rescind offers for what they see as "inappropriate" social media usage? Is what I posted grounds for rescinding an acceptance in a grad school context?

Is it possible for you to make your blog private, or even closing it down altogether? It is good to share your experience, but you'd better take precautions to ensure that you are not identified when your blogs may be used against you. I use this forum to seek help and support for my difficult advisors. Since I have not told anyone in my lab about my advisors, the only people who will figure me out would be my advisors. It is highly unlikely that they will be on here, but I still remain careful not revealing where I am from and what I am researching on. You never know! I think you have learnt your lesson by using different usernames and not revealing where you are going when making posts about grad school. Should that person stumble across your posts, he/she doesn't know where to report you. In the unlikely event that you get found out, you should be fine by explaining to your school that your mental health is well managed. I doubt it is considered inappropriate social media usage for the case of grad school. 

One thing that you should be concerned, though, is the management of good mental health in grad school. Grad school is very hard and stressful. Even for me who hasn't got any mental illnesses, I still went through a period of heightened anxiety when I was writing up my dissertation. I would suggest that you locate resources that can help you, in case the stress of grad school takes a toll on your mental health. 

[seacloud]

Thanks for your sympathy, even if you couldn't answer the question. I honestly didn't realize that stigma was still a major issue - I had thought that given all the attention that's been paid towards depression among medical professionals, that they wouldn't do something like this. At least they were humane enough to officially allow me to withdraw, instead of recording it as a dismissal.

The main problem I see with it coming back to haunt me is that there are a couple of lines in that post which suggest I was at risk of harming myself or others (I later learned that they were intrusive thoughts triggered by an anxiety disorder), which I'm not sure if even grad schools in STEM would tolerate. It's been over a year since I said that and I haven't harmed myself or others, nor do I plan on doing so, but I'm just worried that a particularly dedicated troll or hater who spends a lot of time online could dig it up and then spam email all the well-known schools in my field (since I posted elsewhere on the internet my field) hoping that they'll hit upon one that I was planning on attending. It sounds like some paranoid delusion, but considering that someone managed to send to the medical school a blog post from an obscure website that very few have ever heard of, I can't ever underestimate the dedication of stalkers.

 

Edited February 7, 2018 by seacloud

[GarbledGeyser]

I had a negative experience with my undergrad institution during a period of poor mental health, and those health issues are ongoing. Despite efforts to normalize mental illness, college campuses also have a long way to go. I wouldn't recommend this necessarily for anyone in a similar position, but in my applications to grad schools this year I wrote about how my illness has affected my studies and my secondary career goals - namely, that it encourages me to respect the mental/physical health of my peers/coworkers/etc. and be an advocate for the ethical treatment of mental health issues in the academic environment. It was important to me to be up front about my health, and will be important (if I get in... no acceptances yet) that my advisor understands my illness will occasionally affect how I can approach graduate study. This gamble didn't sink me; I've been invited for a visit to one of my top choices.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with med school - like you said, the depression and burnout rates among med students are terrifying so you'd think they might take a different view on this subject - but if your mental health is managed now, there shouldn't be any rational justification to reject you based on that outright, even if someone does manage to dig up that blog post again. It might qualify as discrimination.

More directly to your question, I've heard about a few high profile cases for undergrad admissions offers being rescinded because of content posted on social media (drugs or highly offensive material). It can and does happen, but I guess from your description of the content, I would be incredibly surprised if it would even come up as a factor in a decision.

But I'm not on an admissions committee so I can't say I have any authority to back that statement up.  Best of luck to you.

[seacloud]

On 2/13/2018 at 10:07 PM, Hope.for.the.best said:

Is it possible for you to make your blog private, or even closing it down altogether? It is good to share your experience, but you'd better take precautions to ensure that you are not identified when your blogs may be used against you. I use this forum to seek help and support for my difficult advisors. Since I have not told anyone in my lab about my advisors, the only people who will figure me out would be my advisors. It is highly unlikely that they will be on here, but I still remain careful not revealing where I am from and what I am researching on. You never know! I think you have learnt your lesson by using different usernames and not revealing where you are going when making posts about grad school. Should that person stumble across your posts, he/she doesn't know where to report you. In the unlikely event that you get found out, you should be fine by explaining to your school that your mental health is well managed. I doubt it is considered inappropriate social media usage for the case of grad school. 

One thing that you should be concerned, though, is the management of good mental health in grad school. Grad school is very hard and stressful. Even for me who hasn't got any mental illnesses, I still went through a period of heightened anxiety when I was writing up my dissertation. I would suggest that you locate resources that can help you, in case the stress of grad school takes a toll on your mental health. 

The blog is already closed down. However, I'm sure that person still has screenshots available, and may even have buddies that might know about the post - it might not just be one person that was involved in this.

Telling the med school that my mental health is well-managed did nothing to help me. They were more upset about the fact that I posted it on the internet than the fact that I had the conditions, as it is "unbecoming of a physician" and is proof that I would not fulfill technical standards of admission and progression.

What I'm concerned about is that the person might, because they know that I was previously admitted to med school and therefore have a high GPA, will most likely have a great GRE, and a fair amount of research experience, make guesses as to which grad schools I will apply to. They will not know for sure, but they could start spamming schools (as in, send reports to every school they think I applied to hoping to hit upon one) if they are seriously dedicated to destroying me. They could even, after I matriculate, see if I have any "telling" social media posts or photos giving away my location, and deducing where I'm going to school based on that (ex. a photo of, say, San Diego on Facebook could indicate that I'm going to UCSD, or a photo of New Haven could indicate that I'm going to Yale...not to say I applied to either, but just as an example. I'm upping privacy settings on Facebook but there's a small chance it is a FB friend of mine), and have me dismissed from the program after the fact.

That is why I am concerned about whether it's considered inappropriate social media usage. That person could get lucky and hit upon a place where I plan on attending. I sincerely hope it isn't, not only for my personal sake but because it's sad to think that showing weakness or anxiety or being honest about my thoughts (if they're not inflammatory or prejudiced) could ruin my career.

I want to be open, eventually, on Facebook at least, about where I'm going to my friends - I don't want to feel like I'm a fugitive in hiding forever. Hence I'm wondering if not only could I get rescinded for the blog post, but if I could get dismissed after matriculation.

On 2/13/2018 at 9:40 PM, GarbledGeyser said:

I had a negative experience with my undergrad institution during a period of poor mental health, and those health issues are ongoing. Despite efforts to normalize mental illness, college campuses also have a long way to go. I wouldn't recommend this necessarily for anyone in a similar position, but in my applications to grad schools this year I wrote about how my illness has affected my studies and my secondary career goals - namely, that it encourages me to respect the mental/physical health of my peers/coworkers/etc. and be an advocate for the ethical treatment of mental health issues in the academic environment. It was important to me to be up front about my health, and will be important (if I get in... no acceptances yet) that my advisor understands my illness will occasionally affect how I can approach graduate study. This gamble didn't sink me; I've been invited for a visit to one of my top choices.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with med school - like you said, the depression and burnout rates among med students are terrifying so you'd think they might take a different view on this subject - but if your mental health is managed now, there shouldn't be any rational justification to reject you based on that outright, even if someone does manage to dig up that blog post again. It might qualify as discrimination.

More directly to your question, I've heard about a few high profile cases for undergrad admissions offers being rescinded because of content posted on social media (drugs or highly offensive material). It can and does happen, but I guess from your description of the content, I would be incredibly surprised if it would even come up as a factor in a decision.

But I'm not on an admissions committee so I can't say I have any authority to back that statement up.  Best of luck to you.

My college was amazing when it came to mental health resources and support. That was a double-edged sword though - I was lulled into a false sense of security, thinking medical schools would be similar given all the news about doctors having issues with mental health.

The medical school didn't care that what they did could be argued as discrimination. Their argument is that my problem was in how I was unprofessional for posting about such illnesses and then making remarks suggesting that I wouldn't be able to control myself from "snapping" and hurting myself or others. I'm not sure if even grad schools would be able to tolerate that.

As for the people who got rescinded from undergrad for these things, I think for the most part they got what they deserved - they were being intentionally inflammatory or depicting themselves engaging in illegal behavior. However, after this incident boiled over, I have heard of people getting rescinded from medical school admissions for a photo of themselves drinking, blog posts expressing a distaste for clinical medicine, or getting dismissed from a residency program for posting about kneeling in solidarity with NFL protesters. Those are I what think are totally unjustified - the actions were totally legal, are not harmful to anyone, and in the latter case is actually admirable (though I could see where the residency program could argue that making political statements should be forbidden because patients might get offended, which was the case).

Edited February 19, 2018 by seacloud

[Hope.for.the.best]

22 hours ago, seacloud said:

Telling the med school that my mental health is well-managed did nothing to help me. They were more upset about the fact that I posted it on the internet than the fact that I had the conditions, as it is "unbecoming of a physician" and is proof that I would not fulfill technical standards of admission and progression.

What I'm concerned about is that the person might, because they know that I was previously admitted to med school and therefore have a high GPA, will most likely have a great GRE, and a fair amount of research experience, make guesses as to which grad schools I will apply to. They will not know for sure, but they could start spamming schools (as in, send reports to every school they think I applied to hoping to hit upon one) if they are seriously dedicated to destroying me. They could even, after I matriculate, see if I have any "telling" social media posts or photos giving away my location, and deducing where I'm going to school based on that (ex. a photo of, say, San Diego on Facebook could indicate that I'm going to UCSD, or a photo of New Haven could indicate that I'm going to Yale...not to say I applied to either, but just as an example. I'm upping privacy settings on Facebook but there's a small chance it is a FB friend of mine), and have me dismissed from the program after the fact.

That is why I am concerned about whether it's considered inappropriate social media usage. That person could get lucky and hit upon a place where I plan on attending. I sincerely hope it isn't, not only for my personal sake but because it's sad to think that showing weakness or anxiety or being honest about my thoughts (if they're not inflammatory or prejudiced) could ruin my career.

The medical school didn't care that what they did could be argued as discrimination. Their argument is that my problem was in how I was unprofessional for posting about such illnesses and then making remarks suggesting that I wouldn't be able to control myself from "snapping" and hurting myself or others. I'm not sure if even grad schools would be able to tolerate that.

I think the med school was upset that you posted your blog under their name. Sadly, mental illnesses are still stigmatised these days, and your med school might worry that the doctors from their school are perceived as "problematic". I think they rejected you to keep their name, although I agree it was unfair. Since you did not indicate which schools you intend to go to on any social media, I doubt those people could use your previous blog posts against you. Did you indicate that you were applying to grad school on social media? If not, then you don't need to worry at all. I doubt they can remotely guess what is in your mind and send "junk mails" to random grad schools. Even if you have indicated that you are going to grad school, it is still a lot of hard work to guess where exactly. You can be moving to a different state from where you are living. A photo of San Diego does not prove that you have applied to grad school there, as you can happen to be travelling there. If you are super concerned, then probably stop posting anything until you have successfully settled in grad school. Yes, those people can send those screenshots by trial and error and might arrive at the school you are going to. But given that grad school receives a lot of emails every day, do you think they will bother to investigate a few screenshots? 

[seacloud]

1 hour ago, Hope.for.the.best said:

I think the med school was upset that you posted your blog under their name. Sadly, mental illnesses are still stigmatised these days, and your med school might worry that the doctors from their school are perceived as "problematic". I think they rejected you to keep their name, although I agree it was unfair. Since you did not indicate which schools you intend to go to on any social media, I doubt those people could use your previous blog posts against you. Did you indicate that you were applying to grad school on social media? If not, then you don't need to worry at all. I doubt they can remotely guess what is in your mind and send "junk mails" to random grad schools. Even if you have indicated that you are going to grad school, it is still a lot of hard work to guess where exactly. You can be moving to a different state from where you are living. A photo of San Diego does not prove that you have applied to grad school there, as you can happen to be travelling there. If you are super concerned, then probably stop posting anything until you have successfully settled in grad school. Yes, those people can send those screenshots by trial and error and might arrive at the school you are going to. But given that grad school receives a lot of emails every day, do you think they will bother to investigate a few screenshots? 

 

Some schools are actually becoming more progressive about this sort of thing. However, my school most likely wasn't. It does mean though that I most likely cannot return to medicine even if I wanted to, and even though I was "withdrawn" rather than dismissed. It would have been too much on me physically and emotionally to do the job. While grad school is also stressful, I think that the freedom to, within reason, control your schedule and distribute workload according to your own preferences might be a saving grace, whereas with medical school you are expected to work at the times they tell you, which involves forced sleep deprivation at times. My decision to go into medicine was in large part due to the anticipated job market; but I've since learned that poor job markets for PhD STEM graduates are not absolute, are highly school-dependent (some schools feed better than others into industry and into good postdocs), and highly student dependent (as in, there is more onus to make *yourself* marketable).

I didn't indicate that I was applying to grad school using my own social media, or my own name. However, someone who knows about my blog might frequent those sites where I posted about grad school using another username, and guess that the person is me, based on the fact that I mentioned the incident. I delete those posts and the account immediately after threads die to cover up evidence just in case they haven't taken screenshots yet and to prevent new people from searching (though I doubt they'll find anything given the blog is deleted). Even if they find anything here, they wouldn't learn anything they hadn't known already. There are over 100 schools in the fields that I applied to that exist, though a particularly astute person could guess at the "tiers" I applied at based on what they know of my application (not a whole lot besides the fact that I have some research experience, a good GPA, and good standardized test taking skills so good GRE). I haven't posted on my social media since graduating from college.

I won't be posting anything until I settle in, but what about after? Can I actually get dismissed for that blog post that happened prior to grad school? I won't be revealing where I go to school to anyone but my Facebook friends (and only after matriculation), but just want to make extra sure just on the infinitesimal chance that one of my Facebook friends was responsible.

That being said, if a medical school can be bothered to investigate a screenshot (and yes, this has happened, and not just to me), I can't see how grad schools wouldn't. I've also upped privacy settings such that only friends can search my "likes" (another way to deduce where I'm going to school), though I don't think Facebook is the main problem since I mostly only allow friends to see my posts, photos, and I keep my profile relatively clean in any case because I knew schools would search through it (the only thing I didn't expect was someone to go out of their way to snitch and report me).

Edited February 20, 2018 by seacloud

[Hope.for.the.best]

15 hours ago, seacloud said:

• Some schools are actually becoming more progressive about this sort of thing. However, my school most likely wasn't.
• I didn't indicate that I was applying to grad school using my own social media, or my own name.
• I delete those posts and the account immediately after threads die to cover up evidence just in case they haven't taken screenshots yet and to prevent new people from searching (though I doubt they'll find anything given the blog is deleted). Even if they find anything here, they wouldn't learn anything they hadn't known already.
• There are over 100 schools in the fields that I applied to that exist.
• I haven't posted on my social media since graduating from college.
• I've also upped privacy settings such that only friends can search my "likes" (another way to deduce where I'm going to school), though I don't think Facebook is the main problem since I mostly only allow friends to see my posts, photos, and I keep my profile relatively clean in any case because I knew schools would search through it.

I would like to draw your attention to the above points you have typed. The fact is that you have done your best to protect your privacy, and the chance of someone finding out which school you are applying and reporting you is very slim. As I said, the med school incident most likely happened because you had details that identify you as an accepted student to that school. Hence, the med school somehow has to take action to alleviate public concerns and retain its name. Now, you have not indicated anything that identifies you to particular grad schools, so those nasty people will have to send random emails to different grad schools.

Let's think about how they may write the email. "I am writing to express concerns of someone who may have applied to your school. Seacloud has previously made blog posts on personal battle of anxiety and depression (see attached)..." The phrase "who may have" is enough for anyone whom it may concern to treat it as a junk mail. Touch wood, even if they guess it right, since you have not tied yourself to any schools on social media, you are speaking out of yourself rather than representing your school. This is not inappropriate social media usage. Another thing, you have deleted the posts, so the grad school cannot verify anything (I am pretty sure the med school verified those posts before taking action on you). With the technology these days, it is very easy to fabricate screenshots of blog posts. I doubt the grad school would bother to investigate something that cannot be verified, and has nothing to do with themselves. 

Some more insights/advice for you:

"While grad school is also stressful, I think that the freedom to, within reason, control your schedule and distribute workload according to your own preferences might be a saving grace, whereas with medical school you are expected to work at the times they tell you, which involves forced sleep deprivation at times."

Well, you are partially right. While you can choose your working hours, you have the pressure to produce quality results for your dissertation and publications. If you are in a field that involves a lot of experiments, it is not uncommon to spend months on experiments that are not working, and you are struggling to get enough data to move on. I consider myself lucky, as I have already generated exciting data for my project when I was still in my first year of PhD. My advisors congratulated me on the success, as all their students didn't get anything until at least halfway in the second year. Even if you are not from a field that involves a lot of experiments, it is still a big struggle to write your dissertation and publications. Writing the dissertation to the standard that your advisor(s) approves for submission is not an easy task. It is even more difficult for publications, as it is common to go through rounds of rejection, revision and re-submission before you can get a paper published. I don't know your school, but some PhD programs require students to have publications before they can graduate. My biggest advice is to have a team of professionals to take care of your mental health, even though your anxiety/depression is well managed at the moment. In case you get another episode, you have someone to turn to for help.

"My decision to go into medicine was in large part due to the anticipated job market; but I've since learned that poor job markets for PhD STEM graduates are not absolute, are highly school-dependent (some schools feed better than others into industry and into good postdocs), and highly student dependent (as in, there is more onus to make *yourself* marketable)."

You are right that job markets for PhD graduates are hit-and-miss. If you are into academia, then whether you get a job is largely dependent on funding. If you are into industry, then you should try to make contact with relevant people when you are still in grad school. Going to conferences is a good way to make connections with other people, be it academia or industry. Networking is the key word here. 

[seacloud]

9 hours ago, Hope.for.the.best said:

I would like to draw your attention to the above points you have typed. The fact is that you have done your best to protect your privacy, and the chance of someone finding out which school you are applying and reporting you is very slim. As I said, the med school incident most likely happened because you had details that identify you as an accepted student to that school. Hence, the med school somehow has to take action to alleviate public concerns and retain its name. Now, you have not indicated anything that identifies you to particular grad schools, so those nasty people will have to send random emails to different grad schools.

Let's think about how they may write the email. "I am writing to express concerns of someone who may have applied to your school. Seacloud has previously made blog posts on personal battle of anxiety and depression (see attached)..." The phrase "who may have" is enough for anyone whom it may concern to treat it as a junk mail. Touch wood, even if they guess it right, since you have not tied yourself to any schools on social media, you are speaking out of yourself rather than representing your school. This is not inappropriate social media usage. Another thing, you have deleted the posts, so the grad school cannot verify anything (I am pretty sure the med school verified those posts before taking action on you). With the technology these days, it is very easy to fabricate screenshots of blog posts. I doubt the grad school would bother to investigate something that cannot be verified, and has nothing to do with themselves. 

Some more insights/advice for you:

"While grad school is also stressful, I think that the freedom to, within reason, control your schedule and distribute workload according to your own preferences might be a saving grace, whereas with medical school you are expected to work at the times they tell you, which involves forced sleep deprivation at times."

Well, you are partially right. While you can choose your working hours, you have the pressure to produce quality results for your dissertation and publications. If you are in a field that involves a lot of experiments, it is not uncommon to spend months on experiments that are not working, and you are struggling to get enough data to move on. I consider myself lucky, as I have already generated exciting data for my project when I was still in my first year of PhD. My advisors congratulated me on the success, as all their students didn't get anything until at least halfway in the second year. Even if you are not from a field that involves a lot of experiments, it is still a big struggle to write your dissertation and publications. Writing the dissertation to the standard that your advisor(s) approves for submission is not an easy task. It is even more difficult for publications, as it is common to go through rounds of rejection, revision and re-submission before you can get a paper published. I don't know your school, but some PhD programs require students to have publications before they can graduate. My biggest advice is to have a team of professionals to take care of your mental health, even though your anxiety/depression is well managed at the moment. In case you get another episode, you have someone to turn to for help.

"My decision to go into medicine was in large part due to the anticipated job market; but I've since learned that poor job markets for PhD STEM graduates are not absolute, are highly school-dependent (some schools feed better than others into industry and into good postdocs), and highly student dependent (as in, there is more onus to make *yourself* marketable)."

You are right that job markets for PhD graduates are hit-and-miss. If you are into academia, then whether you get a job is largely dependent on funding. If you are into industry, then you should try to make contact with relevant people when you are still in grad school. Going to conferences is a good way to make connections with other people, be it academia or industry. Networking is the key word here. 

What would be inappropriate social media usage, from a grad school standpoint? Would the content of what I posted (depression/anxiety, fear of "snapping" and losing control) classify? Would it be considered threatening/intimidating behavior?

As for the nature of getting a graduate degree, I knew that from talking to graduate students during my research experiences as an undergrad. I also am returning to therapy and possibly looking at medication options once I return to school.

As for the job market post-graduation, that is something that will be on the forefront of my mind - if I can't or am not willing to return to medicine, then I need to make sure that I don't sacrifice too much when it comes to being able to get and keep a job. Hence I tried to be very careful when it comes to choosing the field I'll be doing the PhD in (so NOT pure chemistry or biology due to the poor prospects in both), and will be sure to keep an eye out for opportunities especially outside of academia.

Edited February 21, 2018 by seacloud

[TakeruK]

1 hour ago, seacloud said:

What would be inappropriate social media usage, from a grad school standpoint? Would the content of what I posted (depression/anxiety, fear of "snapping" and losing control) classify? Would it be considered threatening/intimidating behavior?

As for the nature of getting a graduate degree, I knew that from talking to graduate students during my research experiences as an undergrad. I also am returning to therapy and possibly looking at medication options once I return to school.

As for the job market post-graduation, that is something that will be on the forefront of my mind - if I can't or am not willing to return to medicine, then I need to make sure that I don't sacrifice too much when it comes to being able to get and keep a job. Hence I tried to be very careful when it comes to choosing the field I'll be doing the PhD in (so NOT pure chemistry or biology due to the poor prospects in both), and will be sure to keep an eye out for opportunities especially outside of academia.

First, I think I wrote in the other thread on the same topic that grad schools and med schools have very different criteria because the difference in the nature of the work. Some things that are critical in the integrity of the medical profession don't quite apply to grad school. Not that I am saying graduate school in research science is less moral or a bad place or anything, and not to say that PhD researchers don't have important impact on the world, but it should be clear how physicians impact their patients in a very different way than academics impact society.

Writing about depression or anxiety would not get you expelled from a graduate program. Reducing the stigma of getting mental health support is a major goal for almost all Universities, especially with their student groups, so this will not hurt you.

Fear of "snapping and losing control" is probably the part that you might be worried about. I still find it hard to believe that graduate programs would even entertain unsolicited emails about their applicants from strangers showing screenshots of blog posts and such. As I said, graduate admissions is very very different from medical school admissions, and to be honest, I think most people involved would just ignore these unsolicited emails. But I don't know the exact nature of the screenshots nor the strategy of people that would send this information to schools so I can't say for sure. 

Ultimately, the admissions committee, the ones with the most say in your admission decision, will not be able to determine things like whether or not you are in a good mental space to be a productive scientist. It's not their job to do so and they don't have the training to do so. After admission, the person who is sending these screenshots in would likely have to contact the Student Affairs office or something along those lines. If your screenshots violates specific policies (e.g. Title VI, Title IX, conduct policies, etc.) then the screenshots would have to be sent to the correct office.

If the office deems that there is a credible risk to the current student population based on this information, then they might take some action, such as calling you in to the office to discuss the details. Unlike your med school experience, this wouldn't really be a "trial". Instead, this should be a discussion with the framework of finding you the resources you need to continue to be a member of the community. You said that you aren't in the same psychological state now and that will matter. They will look at your entire history and the goal is to move past it, not punish for past behaviour. 

Of course, I don't know the exact nature of your past so I don't know what will happen for sure. And each school is different. I'm writing based on how I know my graduate school handled cases where they got information regarding a student's potential risk to the community. I haven't heard of a situation where the information came from an external source---usually these cases are initiated by someone else on campus. 

But the point of this is to say that there is a key difference between med school and grad school. It appears that there are many more strict and important professional standards from the medical community and there are offices and resources at med schools whose goal is to protect these standards. But in grad school, the offices and resources exist to protect their own students primarily, including you after admission. The goal is to ensure students, including those accused of misconduct, get the support and help they might need. The goal isn't to exclude these students from the campus, but instead, to ensure that they can be a productive part of the community.

[seacloud]

2 hours ago, TakeruK said:

First, I think I wrote in the other thread on the same topic that grad schools and med schools have very different criteria because the difference in the nature of the work. Some things that are critical in the integrity of the medical profession don't quite apply to grad school. Not that I am saying graduate school in research science is less moral or a bad place or anything, and not to say that PhD researchers don't have important impact on the world, but it should be clear how physicians impact their patients in a very different way than academics impact society.

Writing about depression or anxiety would not get you expelled from a graduate program. Reducing the stigma of getting mental health support is a major goal for almost all Universities, especially with their student groups, so this will not hurt you.

Fear of "snapping and losing control" is probably the part that you might be worried about. I still find it hard to believe that graduate programs would even entertain unsolicited emails about their applicants from strangers showing screenshots of blog posts and such. As I said, graduate admissions is very very different from medical school admissions, and to be honest, I think most people involved would just ignore these unsolicited emails. But I don't know the exact nature of the screenshots nor the strategy of people that would send this information to schools so I can't say for sure. 

Ultimately, the admissions committee, the ones with the most say in your admission decision, will not be able to determine things like whether or not you are in a good mental space to be a productive scientist. It's not their job to do so and they don't have the training to do so. After admission, the person who is sending these screenshots in would likely have to contact the Student Affairs office or something along those lines. If your screenshots violates specific policies (e.g. Title VI, Title IX, conduct policies, etc.) then the screenshots would have to be sent to the correct office.

If the office deems that there is a credible risk to the current student population based on this information, then they might take some action, such as calling you in to the office to discuss the details. Unlike your med school experience, this wouldn't really be a "trial". Instead, this should be a discussion with the framework of finding you the resources you need to continue to be a member of the community. You said that you aren't in the same psychological state now and that will matter. They will look at your entire history and the goal is to move past it, not punish for past behaviour. 

Of course, I don't know the exact nature of your past so I don't know what will happen for sure. And each school is different. I'm writing based on how I know my graduate school handled cases where they got information regarding a student's potential risk to the community. I haven't heard of a situation where the information came from an external source---usually these cases are initiated by someone else on campus. 

But the point of this is to say that there is a key difference between med school and grad school. It appears that there are many more strict and important professional standards from the medical community and there are offices and resources at med schools whose goal is to protect these standards. But in grad school, the offices and resources exist to protect their own students primarily, including you after admission. The goal is to ensure students, including those accused of misconduct, get the support and help they might need. The goal isn't to exclude these students from the campus, but instead, to ensure that they can be a productive part of the community.

When I was in the hearing for the medical school, they never explicitly mentioned the post that was sent to them in detail or said anything about me being a threat to the safety of the students. Instead, they merely alluded to the "unprofessional" nature of my blog posts in general (They said went through the entire blog...but the only things I can find other than that post that would upset them are some views on sociopolitical stuff, not inflammatory, and some criticisms of my undergrad culture. Perhaps they were worried I could criticize their school once I got there? I later learned that people have been expelled/dismissed for criticizing their medical school on social media, much like how people have been fired from jobs for doing the same.), the "pattern" of "misbehavior" that I displayed and talked about how what I posted was evidence I could not comply with the behavioral/social technical standards. But if they were worried about me being an active threat, they should have paid attention to the post I made shortly before graduation in which I talked about how I was feeling better. It was clear that they did not look at my entire history, even my online history...they must have focused on the parts that were offensive to them.

I was in fact surprised that there was no mention of me being a threat to campus safety - my post expressed a fear of not being to control myself from hurting myself or others. If interpreted uncharitably, it could be seen as a veiled, if unintentional, threat. My intention was certainly not to threaten anyone - I was expressing my fears and anxieties and even talked about going to see a therapist and psychiatrist to get the issue checked out in that post. (I eventually did, and I was discovered to have intrusive thoughts stemming from an anxiety disorder, as well as a misunderstanding of what causes people to commit acts of violence as well as the role that mental illnesses play in that.) Perhaps they understood that I wasn't a threat, but dumped me anyway for other reasons, such as a fear I wouldn't be able to handle the stress, that I bring a bad name to the school, or that I am too opinionated and could offend a patient by posting about my views?

It is clear that medical schools respond to and act upon unsolicited emails, even screenshots - in fact, this happens at the undergraduate level too. The 10 Harvard acceptees who were rescinded were posting their offensive memes in a private chat, which someone reported by posting screenshots. Of course, the admissions committee in graduate schools are research faculty as opposed to specialized admissions officers as in undergrad, but medical school admissions committee members are academic physicians with clinics and sometimes labs. So it could be argued that they do have the time to bother with it, if practicing physicians have the time to bother with it. The only question is would they be interested, given that they are most likely less concerned with the personal lives of their students, unlike in medicine where a physician's personal life can be scrutinized for professionalism. (People have been rescinded and expelled from medical school for a picture of themselves drinking, for example, even if it is legal. Yes, they can be that harsh.)

I really hope that I will be able to be a productive (and employable!) scientist in graduate school and beyond - I had a high interest in it throughout college but went for medicine because it ostensibly has a better job market and I could do research with an MD. I just hope that I can put this behind me and that as long as I don't post anything of a similar nature that can be identifiable again, I won't have this past coming back to haunt me.

 

Edited February 21, 2018 by seacloud

[lemma]

Hundreds of students register with the university for mental health reasons (often severe), and some apply with equity considerations due to the disruptions these have caused, making these diagnoses very public. I know some universities suspend undergraduates following severe mental illness or suicide, but these policies tend to be very different for graduate students. 

[seacloud]

On 3/5/2018 at 1:36 AM, lemma said:

Hundreds of students register with the university for mental health reasons (often severe), and some apply with equity considerations due to the disruptions these have caused, making these diagnoses very public. I know some universities suspend undergraduates following severe mental illness or suicide, but these policies tend to be very different for graduate students. 

How different? I don't plan on registering with the university, as my illnesses have never been bad enough for me to stop functioning (though there have been times where it's come close). All they have for evidence now, if it ever comes to light, would be a screenshot. And yes, I've heard that some universities suspend students for being mentally ill - my university was not one of them, and for that I'm glad. In fact, my university had amazing mental health resources available - so much that I think I got lulled into a false sense of security and got myself rescinded.

In all honesty, I should sue them, but I don't think I'll accomplish anything I want from it. I don't want to go to a place where they don't want me, and don't want anything to do with a profession that would not only allow these things to happen, but celebrate it as "maintaining professionalism", on top of making their trainees work insane hours in the name of "education" (an issue in some fields of graduate study as well, especially organic chemical synthesis), and bullying their students in the name of "toughening them up". Not worth it for the job security, the prestige, or the money - or in my case, I was so scared of unemployment figures in other fields, especially science PhDs, that I thought I would be safe by locking myself in the MD box. I was, I think, wildly overreacting.

(I apologize if it sounds like sour grapes. All of these problems are real and I knew about them beforehand - I just let fear dominate my thinking for the entirety of undergrad and ultimately let it consume me. No more.)

Edited March 9, 2018 by seacloud

[seacloud]

Just as a follow-up question to this one: Is it possible to be dismissed from a graduate program, after matriculation, for something that happened prior to applying to the graduate program? If the person who reported me finds out where I'm attending grad school via, say, Googling my name or checking my LinkedIn (which I will eventually need to apply for and online-network for jobs and such), could they plausibly send the post (again, it contained details of my mental health issues, including a fear/intrusive thought that I would snap and harm myself and others) to either my school or my PI and the grad school will dismiss me?

Edited May 22, 2018 by seacloud

[TakeruK]

2 hours ago, seacloud said:

Just as a follow-up question to this one: Is it possible to be dismissed from a graduate program, after matriculation, for something that happened prior to applying to the graduate program? If the person who reported me finds out where I'm attending grad school via, say, Googling my name or checking my LinkedIn (which I will eventually need to apply for and online-network for jobs and such), could they plausibly send the post (again, it contained details of my mental health issues, including a fear/intrusive thought that I would snap and harm myself and others) to either my school or my PI and the grad school will dismiss me?

See my above response from Feb 21 for what might happen if your grad school gets a report about you after you have matriculated. As I wrote above, since grad schools and med schools are very different things, I don't think the concerns that the med school had will be shared by a graduate school. I would guess that a grad school would be more interested in who you are as a person now, not your history and it is unlikely for someone to be dismissed for actions occurring solely before you matriculated, unless these actions would have affected your admission (e.g. lying about a degree). No one knows for sure though, and no one here can really give you a guarantee.