Graduate School and Facebook: Here's Some Etiquette
Do you remember senior year of high school? Donât bother answering, we already know. (Freshmen, yes; sophomores, no; juniors, no; seniors, yes, coupled with nostalgia and tears at impending adulthood.) If you said yes, you probably remember all the posts about where your (Facebook) friends announced they were going to college. You remember that kid who posted every single college acceptance, but you also remember your good friend who kept everyone in the dark until they announced after graduation they were moving across the country.
You might have thought you were free from that, but now that youâre in college you have to deal with people getting into graduate school. Maybe you even got into one yourself, lucky duck. So to all the future MDs, JDs, MBAs, MAs, PHDs, and all the people that need to deal with them, hereâs some advice.
If you got into graduate school, remember:
This isnât college. We know you poured your life into applying to more debt, essays, and examsâwe mean graduate school. But breaking news: fewer people go to graduate school than undergraduate. In all likelihood, most of your Facebook friends havenât been keeping up with your postgrad plans. So donât be the No Information Nancy who posts âHeading to ABC University next year!â At least tell us what youâre going for.
Re: THIS ISNâT COLLEGE. Youâre starting graduate school while your friends start to pay off debt. Stay humble. Toss in a â#blessed to pursue a ______ in _______ at _______ Universityâ.
If your aunt/uncle/grandparent uses Facebook, they are going to be skeptical. Before you were born, every one of your family members had to attend a mandatory seminar on how to question your life decisions. Someone related to you will probably comment something innocent in your status like âoof three more years of tuition?â or âcouldnât you have studied that in college?â The key here is to get very defensive and insist that this graduate degree is the only way for you to further your career. If you want to be a doctor, you kind of need an MD.
If your Facebook friend got into graduate school, remember:
If you catch a meal with them 3+ times per semester (aka theyâre actually one of your friends), you must like their status. Thatâs just common courtesy. Maybe even give it a love.
If they will be attending graduate school near where you will be working, you are obligated to comment about how you should grab a drink. You never need to follow up with themâunless you two are actually friendsâbut you need to offer. Otherwise, when you change your current location to New York City for your new Goldman gig, they might call you out on your status and you'll look like a jerk.
If you got into the same graduate school (even for a different degree, even if itâs an older friend and youâre still an undergraduate at that school), do not comment that youâll see them there. You might think it comes off as chill, but seriously, get your own Facebook status.