Law School Application Social Media Checklist

Law School Application Social Media Checklist

When you’re applying to law school you must be aware of your digital footprint. Law schools often look at your social media presence when reviewing applicants’ candidacy.  You don’t have a lot to gain, but so much to lose by posting inappropriate things to social media. Use this helpful law school application social media checklist to make sure you are covered!

Law School Application Social Media Checklist

1. Put yourself in the shoes of an admissions officer.

In short, if you’re not sure that something is appropriate, just take it down so it cannot be misconstrued. At the end of the day, you don’t want a seemingly innocuous post to turn into a firestorm of controversy.

2. Google yourself and see what you find. (Be sure to do a Google image search too!)

Googling yourself is a first step in trying to make sure your social media profile is clean. Use your Google search to unearth any potential issues. Then, delete or hide anything you find that you don’t want admissions officers to see!

3. Manage your social media account privacy settings.

When applying to law school, log into every social media account and make sure that your account settings are on private. This includes:

Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Snapchat
Reddit
TopLawSchools.com

Comb through your post history and edit/delete as needed.  In addition, don’t forget about any other social media accounts or forums you actively use or used in the past. (Just because you stopped using it, doesn’t mean it’s not there and discoverable.) You should also consider changing your name on these accounts so you’re not immediately identifiable. Use a middle name, nickname or pseudonym.

4. Closely monitor your accounts throughout the application process, or shut them down altogether.

Ask friends and family to refrain from tagging you in any questionable posts. Be vigilant against any posts or photos you’re tagged in. Make sure that you have the required approvals in place before something is public on your account. In the same vein, know that private messages don’t necessarily stay private.

Finally, consider temporarily deactivating all of your social media accounts. This is the best way to ensure online anonymity and my strongest recommendation to concerned applicants. Following these easy steps will make your life a lot easier in the long run, or at least until you matriculate!

If you have any specific questions or concerns about past misconduct, we can help! Be sure to also review our post on how to draft your character and fitness addendum as part of your law school application.

Rachel Margiewicz, Director of Pre-Law Services, wrote this post. Rachel is a licensed attorney with years of admissions experience across three law school programs in different markets of the country. She knows what schools are looking for and how to make your application stand out.  Contact us with questions and for more information on our application assistance services! We look forward to hearing from you!