Also to add to my post above, I can also alter the specific CV to where there isn’t a listing of a specific name of a program or institution, etc. once again for anonymity purposes, just because everyone is still very much on edge or possibly paranoid (I can feel it thru the interwebz). I will send it back to the person thru PM for final approval before I then paste it into the thread. I WILL NOT post it without your final approval. Thus it will help freshmen, sophomore, and juniors, even the ones who are lurking and interested (God help them) in applying to this program and many other programs, as well as see the stats of people getting interviews from the in-state, regional, and out-of-state pools. It will also help people in seeing the different ECs out there in not only applying for medicine, but which ones are very realistic in terms of how medicine is like. Trust me, you’re not as creative as you probably think your EC is. It’s been done by at least one person before.
Oh and another thing before I forget, SOCIAL MEDIA – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, I know I’m missing others because I’m getting to the fogey age (at least for the age you guys are at currently), etc. Put those on full lock, deactivate, whatever. I’ll deal with the two common ones:
If you have Twitter — put your Twitter on lock, deactivate it, or whatever it is you do to make sure no one can read your individual tweets, and that includes being able to see your bio. I don’t have Twitter (thank God) but I can easily get on it without a username and start searching. I can see letters of the photos you guys take of your first acceptance to the UMKC undergrad back in September. And you can bet if I can do it, ANYONE can do it, and both UMKC and UMKC Med have Twitter accounts. DO NOT follow these accounts as every tweet you send can be read by them in their feed.
If you have Facebook – Privacy settings need to be on at the highest level you can – so just your immediate friends and/or family. There was also an application essay prompt this year on the BA/MD supplemental app that you could choose about social media and medicine and I believe at UMKC there is now a lecture given to med students and social media (not just at UMKC, but at other places, I know you guys have heard of stories in the news of people and their social media accounts getting them into trouble in other professions), so it would not be unheard of at all for a UMKC Med faculty member to try to look you up on social media account to see your digital footprint after the interview day is over or even before. By the way, this can happen now in residency selection time (your overall footprint as well as looking up research publications), as well as the job market for everyone.
I’m not trying to scare anyone here, but just trying to tie any loose ends that might tip the scales either way. Make your impression on the day of the interview, and not anytime before you’ve arrived or after you’ve left, just because we were able to read your tweet about the refried bean tacos in the cafeteria giving you bad gas back in Fall 2012, when you were starting 9th grade.