With the school year coming to a close, many graduating high school seniors and transfer students are making college decisions. For some, social media could play a major role in where they decide to enroll.
In Fall 2024, a record breaking number of students enrolled at the University of Arizona, with 9,314 first year students. That’s up from 7,334 first years enrolled in 2020 and 8,037 in 2015.
There are many possible factors contributing to a rise in applications and enrollment in recent years. One of those factors: social media.
“Before coming to the UA, during my time still in high school, the UA was a huge part of my timeline on TikTok. I would see so many videos of girls having so much fun at events and the social life on campus,” said freshman Jade Padilla. “I could totally see how that’s affecting people’s decisions because I thought about it with mine.”
On social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, a search for the UA delivers thousands of posts about social life, clubs, sports, academics and daily life on and near campus. As social media has become an increasing part of young people’s lives, it also impacts how they see potential colleges.
“When I first started at the UA in 2021, there were posts on TikTok about the UA party and going out scene,” said UA senior Ahnise Chaira. “But over the past three years, the popularity of UA on social media has increased so much with a different variety of videos and posts that pop up on my timeline.”
Many UA students are now micro-influencers and influencers, sharing their lives on campus with as many as 100,000 followers or more.
“Influencers have that name because they are actually influential,” said Heather Gahler, a communications professor at the UA who researches social media and intergroup communication.
While school influencers aren’t new, she said their ability to provide an informal perspective into life on campus could be impacting where potential students go to school.
“Especially if they are already considering the UA, then looking at what influencers have to say about the campus climate, about external activities like Greek Life, clubs, athletics – it can really appeal to different people who are thinking about what it might be like to be at the UA,” she said.
Gahler said social comparison theory, which suggests that individuals assess themselves based on comparison to and opinions of others, could be at play, with potential students comparing their college experience to influencers at the UA.
“You would think about seeing an influencer or seeing different things on social media and being able to say, ‘Hey I can attain that too!’ Or ‘If I go to the UA I will also have friends and be connected on campus the way this person is,’” she said.
Social media gives students a closer look at life at the UA and in Tucson, potentially inspiring them to attend the school to have the kind of experience they see influencers sharing online.
What that means for enrollment in Fall 2025 is still unclear, said Mary Venezia, chief of staff for Enrollment Management at the UA.
“Those numbers are still coming into focus. With National College Decision Day on May 1 and continued movement from students throughout the summer, we expect things to shift in the months ahead,” she said.
“That said, we’re excited about the incoming class and are looking forward to welcoming a strong and talented group of students this fall,” she added.
Meanwhile, some incoming students are already expressing excitement about attending the UA by posting videos to TikTok with #uofa and #uarizona. There are currently more than 53,000 posts on the social media platform using those hashtags.
Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.
