About

Instagram Class Accounts are student-run school-specific Instagram accounts for college freshman featuring profiles on individuals accepted to the school so that those individuals may make connections with other students.

Origin

On December 12, 2016, Instagram user csaint66[] was featured on Cornell University's class account accompanied by a short personal story. The post gained 110 likes in three years (shown below).

Spread

On January 29th, 2018, the North Carolina State University class account, ncsu22[], began posting profiles for the class of 2022 (show below, left). For example, Felicitu Hoppes, detailed profile included two pictures and a caption reading, "Hey everyone!! My name is Felicity Hoppes and I’m from Shelby, NC (about 45 minutes west of Charlotte). NC State is definitely where I want to be, I just haven’t enrolled yet. I plan on majoring in Biological Sciences with a genetics intent! I’ve played soccer my whole life and I LOVE to be outside. I don’t really care if I live in a hall style or suite style, trying to keep my options open. DM me if you wanna be pals! 💗😁" The post gained 25 likes in a year. On June 23rd, UMass Amherst began featuring profiles for the class of 2022 (shown below, right).

By 2019, numerous students began accounts for the class of 2023. In April 2019, The Atlantic^[4] outlined the challenges associated with these accounts including fees charged to students wanting to be featured^[5] and student verification to avoid people who are attempting to "gain followers or clout." Many students began setting the accounts to private (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References