Delete social media from your college process
Sara Javerbaum, Staff Writer
Social media already dictates almost everything we do in life. It tells us how to dress, how to eat, how our bodies should look; how we apply to college is no exception. From subreddits to college acceptance videos, college-related media seems to be shoved in every senior’s face. While some people feel that these forms of media motivate them to do better, the fear and pressure this type of content brings to the surface is unhealthy.
Reddit is a social media platform where people can form their own communities (“subreddits”), ranging from fanclubs to advice columns. Among many academic related subreddits, one of the most unhealthy is r/chanceme, which currently has 76 thousand members. In the subreddit, seniors post their stats: extra-curriculars, SAT scores, GPAs and more, asking their fellow members what “chance” they have at acceptance. For context, one of the most recent posts as of Oct. 8 has a headline that reads, “Chance me for UVA, WIlliam & Mary, UMaryland, etc.”
The students posting this information are desperately searching for a semblance of control, someone to tell them definitively what their future holds. This is a completely understandable desire when going through such uncertain times. However, posting, reading or engaging in this type of content is awful for one’s mental health. Baseless claims that this ACT score will get you into Yale or that Freshman year C will send you straight to your mom’s basement only feed the flames of anxiety. Not to mention, the people “chance-ing” students have no qualifications, and you are just as capable at guessing your fate. Cameron Hackmann (’25) fell prey to these forms of media early on.
“I shouldn’t have, but I got really stressed when I saw all this stuff online of kids getting into really good schools and watching their admissions. I was just comparing myself to other students and their grades,” Hackmann said.
Along with subreddits, college acceptance videos are another harmful form of social media. If you’ve never watched these, I applaud you. For those who don’t know, these videos document college applicants as they react to their college admissions updates. An example is a video by a student named Tyler Newman that amassed nearly 120 thousand views. The applicant documented her admission into 16 of the 16 schools that she applied to, five of which were ivies. These videos obviously bring up feelings of co-comparison and anxiety, but they also contain a more well-camouflaged downside: their ability to change students’ goals. Young audiences who watch these videos, particularly underclassmen, may internalize these reactions and start to see prestigious schools as their singular goal after graduation. And it makes sense! Watching kids burst into tears after receiving admission to Harvard leads one to think that Harvard is worth crying over.
“Students here [at Samo] think that these prestigious universities with low acceptance rates determine their self-worth. It’s so frustrating because I feel like people don’t even think about if the school is good for them,” Inez Lynch Alfaro (’22) said.
The videos are tiny, 10-20 minute glimpses into one person’s life, not a guidebook of what schools are worthy of your consideration. The only person that can decide the best college for you is you.
As teens living in a world defined by what social media deems as desirable, it’s reasonable to turn to these platforms to help make what may feel like the biggest decision of your life. Nonetheless, as scary as it seems, your college decisions are ones you have to make by yourself, based on your own unique experience.
Art by Ella Rose
