Do schools look you up... on facebook, etc?

[laviola]

I know this is a weird question, but do schools search you online at all? Or.. would anyone know if that's true or not? I ask because my major involves writing, and my writing's up online. Would they be looking at that kind of thing, or even facebook? I've heard of people doing it for jobs, but never sure about school.

Thoughts?

[abc123xtc]

I don't know if they actually do, but I would always assume they do -- better to err on the side of caution.

[3point14]

Yes. I'm sure it differs by program, but I know for a fact that one of my programs did. However, it was only after I was invited to interview, and they weren't trying to dig up dirt on me or anything. But it's definitely better to be safe than sorry with any sort of social networking media.

[Helpplease123]

I can imagine they might for some people, shortlisted PHD candidates for example but i'd be surprised if they did for a standard Masters applicant, just due to the sheer volume of them!

[sansao]

They definitely looked at my networking info. Not gonna say which network, but yeah, I would count on them doing it if they didn't reject you on the spot. If they're going to invest money in you, they probably don't want too many surprises.

[pelevinfan]

I had two POIs friend me on Facebook after my acceptance...I'm going in for a PhD program, though. So I would agree with the above posters and err on the side of caution when posting things online (though that doesn't really sound like it was your concern anyway).

[GreenePony]

I erred on the side of caution, made anything that was the least bit cringe-worthy unsearchable (mostly unrelated stuff, videos from a dance organization I ran where I was woefully unprepared for the performance, horse shows where I was showing a greeny and my equitation went out the window, that sort of thing). Thankfully my married name is very, very common so unless they searched my maiden name they wouldn't find anything.

And you can set your privacy settings so public search is off and you can't google your fb profile.

[J.Snow]

They definitely looked at my networking info. Not gonna say which network, but yeah, I would count on them doing it if they didn't reject you on the spot. If they're going to invest money in you, they probably don't want too many surprises.

Yes. Mine too. There are some that tell you who's viewed your profile, and mine was definitely checked pre-interview. And I agree with everyone above, you should always assume they will and never post anything you could later be embarrassed by.

[Benzene]

I have an academia.edu profile and I noticed that I got more people hitting my page during application season, especially right around the time I received an interview invite. So it seems reasonable to guess that schools are googling me - I've moved towns since finishing my master's, so there's no other reason for anyone to be searching for "Benzene + MA City"

[LaBrunaFurba]

Yes, and they also monitor these forums. Just be smart. You're not as anonymous as you think.

[Revo]

I'm pretty sure one of them looked me up on LinkedIn.

[guttata]

Yes, and they also monitor these forums. Just be smart. You're not as anonymous as you think.

Especially all of the people that use their real names - first and last - as their usernames