How did you choose a university: the lecturers, the associated fee, the campus? For at present’s excessive schoolers, a brand new metric has entered the chat—how the faculty will look on TikTok.
In response to Teen Vogue, highschool TikTok influencers are more and more selecting faculties based mostly on how they’ll current on social media content material. “A part of Morgan McGuire’s calculation as she’s deciding the place to go to school is what is going to look good on TikTok,” writes journalist Fortesa Latifi. “She needs to verify the campus is fairly and that there are enjoyable occasions like soccer video games to doc in bite-size movies.” For these college students who’ve constructed followings on-line, choosing a university is about greater than schooling. It’s a strategic profession transfer.
It’s hardly stunning given how a lot of teenagers’ lives at the moment are lived on-line. TikTok ranks among the many hottest social platforms, with Pew Research’s 2023 data revealing it’s the second most-used app amongst these ages 13 to 17 (YouTube takes the highest spot). One in 5 teenagers say they’re on TikTok “nearly continually,” with college-related content material changing into a serious style on each TikTok and YouTube. On TikTok alone, there are greater than 8.3 million posts tagged with #college, alongside hundreds extra below hashtags like #dorm and #backtoschool. These platforms now function unofficial guides to larger schooling, the place creators supply all the things from college-decision reveals to insider ideas—and become profitable doing it.
Mia Aston movies her days as a movie pupil at New York College for her 10,000-plus TikTok followers, sharing all the things from the essays she’s writing to the scenic views on her walks to class. Others comparable to Elise Pham, a Harvard pupil with 155,000 TikTok followers, submit sponsored “decorate my dorm with me” and “morning routine” movies, that includes such manufacturers as Command and Keurig. In response to ZipRecruiter, the typical annual wage for a TikTok influencer is greater than $130,000. This may be earned by means of profitable model offers, the TikTok store, or by means of affiliate marketing online. Influencers also can earn cash from the TikTok Creator Fund, which affords payouts to creators based mostly on their content material’s views and engagement.
For influencers attending prestigious faculties, the faculty’s title turns into a robust advertising and marketing device, drawing tens of hundreds of curious followers desirous to peek behind the gates of the world’s most unique establishments.
Truthfully, there are worse causes to base your faculty resolution on.
