kalleziffel Posted February 15, 2011 Posted February 15, 2011 I don't think it's that shocking some adcomms might turn to a well-known board specializing in grad school applications to see if anything turns up. I've heard about applicants being googled before, too. The example from the Linguistics sub-board just shows that the general rule of Internet-forum-use applies here too: either keep identifying details vague, or put it out there and stand by it, knowing you run the chance of being identified. It could be anyone - other classmates, relatives, professors. This board definitely has a welcoming, safe haven vibe to it, and it's wonderful, but we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that it's still a publicly accessible corner of the Internet. I've been seriously worried about that ... if you google my name, the first hit is a youtube video of me sitting in a very noisy cafe talking about clean energy acts: I look awful and I sound idiotic.
Strangefox Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 I may have to disappear and reappear with a different account once I get into grad school Interesting idea, by the way!
encephalization Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 I've always kept this in mind. However, threads like these makes me even more nervous. The day before I received my first acceptance I googled myself for the first time ever (I've always said I would never do that). Ironically, I was sad to see that I had nothing to worry about. My WWW-imprint is next to nothing. Maybe I should join Facebook? (cant believe I'm even considering it!!).
gunlesswonder Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) I've always kept this in mind. However, threads like these makes me even more nervous. The day before I received my first acceptance I googled myself for the first time ever (I've always said I would never do that). Ironically, I was sad to see that I had nothing to worry about. My WWW-imprint is next to nothing. Maybe I should join Facebook? (cant believe I'm even considering it!!). Ha.... I wish my footprint was a little less random. There is some good, but odd looking stuff (I write about porn in the ME, so it screams "SEX" and "PORN" under my name), a couple of published papers, info from the dog training business that I run, and then links to the online x-files fan club I was vice president of way back in the day. So yeah, porn, dog training and the x-files. I am sure well rounded! Hope that the ad com has sense of humor.... lol, seriously though, Facebook as all well and good for social stuff, but I'd recommend that you'd join something like academia.edu which will give you a more professional, controllable google CV. Congrats on your acceptance! Edited February 17, 2011 by gunlesswonder
Kathiza Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 I don't think that Facebook is necessarily and in any case a problem. People can choose what they put on there. They can hide their profile to non-friends. There are many options to prevent that adcoms have to much knowledge about your private life. And even so: Everyone is entitled to a private life. So if adcoms are shocked by some photos seeing you dancing on a party, that's just hypocrisy. Also: Liking to party is not the same as drinking or doing drugs and liking to party does not make you a bad person. Adcoms should know that. Hopefully. But they can google me. They'll find some university-stuff, they'll find my facebook-profile (which is hidden), they'll find my current job, lots of articles I published for magazines and newspapers, and then many many results from people with the same name.
encephalization Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Ha.... I wish my footprint was a little less random. There is some good, but odd looking stuff (I write about porn in the ME, so it screams "SEX" and "PORN" under my name), a couple of published papers, info from the dog training business that I run, and then links to the online x-files fan club I was vice president of way back in the day. So yeah, porn, dog training and the x-files. I am sure well rounded! Hope that the ad com has sense of humor.... lol, seriously though, Facebook as all well and good for social stuff, but I'd recommend that you'd join something like academia.edu which will give you a more professional, controllable google CV. Congrats on your acceptance! Hahaha, that's brilliant. I assume that you are applying for a PhD in zoological gender studies with a minor in sci-fi? Yeah, I doubt I will join Facebook. Too late to jump on the train now anyways. I don't think that Facebook is necessarily and in any case a problem. People can choose what they put on there. They can hide their profile to non-friends. There are many options to prevent that adcoms have to much knowledge about your private life. And even so: Everyone is entitled to a private life. So if adcoms are shocked by some photos seeing you dancing on a party, that's just hypocrisy. Also: Liking to party is not the same as drinking or doing drugs and liking to party does not make you a bad person. Adcoms should know that. Hopefully. But they can google me. They'll find some university-stuff, they'll find my facebook-profile (which is hidden), they'll find my current job, lots of articles I published for magazines and newspapers, and then many many results from people with the same name. Yes, I definitely think you are right. However, I have heard several stories about PoIs and Grad School profiles that want to befriend prospect students on Facebook. I can imagine that some people would hesitate to turn them down, especially if they are in a small and narrow field of studies (where you would come in contact with the PoI at some point in your career). Perhaps it is not so much partying and the nature of the persons social life but how 'mature' they act. I know more than a handful of straight-A students who post the most childish things on eachother's walls.
A. sesquipedale Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Oh no. I posted in the Chuck Norris thread. Twice. I'm Dooooooooooooooooomed. skeedy and Zouzax 1 1
Strangefox Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Oh no. I posted in the Chuck Norris thread. Twice. I'm Dooooooooooooooooomed. Doomed to be admitted!
Kathiza Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Yes, I definitely think you are right. However, I have heard several stories about PoIs and Grad School profiles that want to befriend prospect students on Facebook. I can imagine that some people would hesitate to turn them down, especially if they are in a small and narrow field of studies (where you would come in contact with the PoI at some point in your career). Perhaps it is not so much partying and the nature of the persons social life but how 'mature' they act. I know more than a handful of straight-A students who post the most childish things on eachother's walls. Haha, my profile is not in English, so they'll at least have a hard time to decipher the childish stuff I post on my wall
Strangefox Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Haha, my profile is not in English, so they'll at least have a hard time to decipher the childish stuff I post on my wall They will use Google translator!! :lol: Well, I hope they won't, first of all because Google translator is a devilish device that seldom translates things correctly
Zouzax Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 I was really freaked out when I saw this on the Linguistics forum. I definitely gave myself away a bunch of times. If I had thought about the fact that adcoms would be reading my posts, I wouldn't have talked so much about my fears of not being admitted or of being unprepared for a Ph.D. I used this forum as a place to vent my frustrations and fears, as none of my friends or family have ever experienced what it's like to apply for a Ph.D program. Ah well. Nothing I can do about it now I suppose. But I won't be so comfortable venting again in the future, unfortunately
skeedy Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Guys, I'm actually working undercover for your adcomms. They pay me to report back to them what you say. Careful. Oh good! Tell them to hurry up, already!
thelost Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 I wouldn't post what schools I'm applying to or my status with each. With those two bits of information alone schools could create a very short list of people. If you reveal your research interests, location or job they could nail you down exactly. If you insist on sharing your acceptances or rejections, I would do it like: "Applied: 10, Accepted: 2, Rejected: 3, Waiting: 5" Not that I have anything to hide, but you never know how a post could be interpreted.
Kathiza Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 To be honest... I don't think the information I posted here will haunt me one day. I'm sure they can exactly figure out who I am by looking at my postings, but I have to say: I stand by everything I posted here. And if a school thinks that posting "going craaaaaaaaazy" here is making me unworthy of being accepted... well... it's sad. But I'll have to accept it. I don't want to spend the next couple of years in an environment where I feel like someone is constantly looking over my shoulder and judging every single bit I post on the internet. I'm careful. I only post things I won't be embarrassed to tell to people's faces. But I'm sure if somebody WANTS to find something to hold against you, he will. And I will have to accept it.
Strangefox Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Not that I have anything to hide, but you never know how a post could be interpreted. Well, if a school interprets a perfectly innocent post in some twisted way, I just would not want to deal with such paranoic people
Zouzax Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 Well, if a school interprets a perfectly innocent post in some twisted way, I just would not want to deal with such paranoic people you're so right! what a positive way to look at it.
Strangefox Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 you're so right! what a positive way to look at it. And by the way, I have not read all your posts but those that I did read were all very nice so I am sure you have nothing to worry about
Zouzax Posted February 17, 2011 Posted February 17, 2011 And by the way, I have not read all your posts but those that I did read were all very nice so I am sure you have nothing to worry about Hey thanks! I think Im just so freaked out by this admissions process that I think even a silly post will get my application dismissed. Cant wait for it to be over!!
OnceAndFutureGrad Posted February 18, 2011 Posted February 18, 2011 Well, if a school interprets a perfectly innocent post in some twisted way, I just would not want to deal with such paranoic people In a somewhat related vein, I hemmed and hawed about hinting at my religious affiliation (in the form of the club I ran at my undergrad) on my CV. I also thought long and hard about mentioning my hobby of experimental archaeology, which is in my opinion an extremely important method of scholarly discourse, but can look to some people like LARPing. I ultimately decided to keep both in my application, because they're an inherent and indelible part of me - I won't hide them if I am a PhD student - and so if an adcom writes me off for either or both, well, I wouldn't have fit in there anyway. I feel the same about programs that are going to get their knickers in a twist about me bitching about grad apps.
Strangefox Posted February 18, 2011 Posted February 18, 2011 get their knickers in a twist love this expression!
space-cat Posted February 18, 2011 Posted February 18, 2011 I ultimately decided to keep both in my application, because they're an inherent and indelible part of me - I won't hide them if I am a PhD student - and so if an adcom writes me off for either or both, well, I wouldn't have fit in there anyway. I feel the same about programs that are going to get their knickers in a twist about me bitching about grad apps. Right on! You never know what's going to make you stand out in a crowd of applicants with similar scores and backgrounds. A good 40% of this game is just getting someone to remember who you are. As far as GC posts go...unless you're really being an asshat, I don't think ad coms can blame you for being a human instead of a brain on a stick.
qbtacoma Posted February 18, 2011 Posted February 18, 2011 Right on! You never know what's going to make you stand out in a crowd of applicants with similar scores and backgrounds. A good 40% of this game is just getting someone to remember who you are. As far as GC posts go...unless you're really being an asshat, I don't think ad coms can blame you for being a human instead of a brain on a stick. I agree. The only thing that would hinder this is if an applicant displayed some wildly inappropriate behavior on the forum, like trolling or other things. More darkly, if someone admitted to, say, struggling with depression at some point in their lives then the stigma against mental illness might kick in. Overall, though, i do hope that people remember we're going through some typical human anxiety here.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now