A senior goes to open Instagram and sees a post jumping out of the screen. Surrounded by bold text, a picture of their classmate next to a college logo catches their eye. Comments from classmates, parents, and alumni congratulating the student pile up. Posts like these are part of an evolving college decision tradition at Latin.

College announcements have transformed in the last 50 years from The Forum’s dedicated college section in the 1960s to the rise of social media in the 2010s. More people than ever see students’ decisions, and as a result, the culture and stigma behind them have only grown.

Sections displaying college decisions were common in the 1960s: “Congrats to Frances Barrow for getting in Northwestern on Early Decision—first senior in college," The Forum reported in November 1967.

Similarly, commentary on decisions was a newspaper staple. “This year’s list of college admissions is a very commendable one,” Robert Sills ’66 wrote in a 1966 edition of The Forum. “Out of 27 seniors, 55.6% were accepted at their first choices.”

By 1995, students would announce their college decisions by wearing branded t-shirts, according to Assistant Head of School Ryan Allen ’95, who described the college announcement environment as exciting, but also humbling.

“You do everything you can as a student to put yourself in the best position,” Mr. Allen said. “So there's an emotional attachment to the work that you've put in to earn that spot.”

Although students certainly work hard to earn their spot in college, the culture of announcing decisions, he believes, can divide seniors.

“You have two classmates that particularly look kind of similar [as students], but for whatever reason, a school made a difference between those two. That creates a vacuum of understanding,” Mr. Allen said. “People then think about that and internalize that, and that can cause conflict.”

Announcing colleges through clothing continued into the 2000s, but so did the stress for students who did not get accepted early on. Ameerah Phillips ’06 decided where she would continue her education with just two weeks before the deadline.

“I felt very stressed, up until the very end,” Ameerah said. “I feel like some of my classmates were maybe a little more relaxed earlier on because they already knew, and they could focus on getting the most out of senior year.”

After her extended application process, Ameerah decided to attend Amherst College in Massachusetts. Because she liked many other colleges, she was hesitant to announce her decision.

“I didn't wear a sweatshirt or anything like that,” Ameerah said. “It took me a week or two to get comfortable with this being my choice.”

Primarily, only Latin students and parents viewed college announcements during the 2000s. However, in the 2010s, the growing popularity of Facebook allowed students to share their decision with substantially more people.

Rachel Stone, a 2013 graduate of Latin, wrote an article for the Forum titled “College Acceptances in the Age of Facebook.” In the article, Rachel described how the Facebook era in the early 2010s expanded college announcement culture at Latin. Yet during her years in high school, college announcements were still somewhat isolated from the broader online environment, she believed.

“You could see posts from people outside your network, but not too far [beyond],” Rachel said.

In recent years, seniors have announced their college choices on Instagram. The 2026 Instagram account was created in June 2025 and is run by senior Teagan Moroney. Each post consists of five elements: the name of a student, the college they will attend, their intended major, the logo of the school, and two pictures.

These pages date back about a decade. The first instance of a college decision account on Instagram was in 2014; however, that page has since been deleted.

Rachel believes that, on Instagram. content is “brought much closer to the larger world” than on Facebook. Indeed, the 2026 decision Instagram account currently has more than 1,400 followers.

This shift in exposure has impacted many students, like Michael Kotcher ’25, who attends the University of Michigan. Michael described the college environment at Latin as highly competitive.

“I think the whole idea about sharing college decisions as a bad thing or a good thing is further dividing the grade,” Michael said. “People need to stop comparing themselves to one another and just really focus on themselves and just be proud of each other.”

In 2025, the majority of Latin’s seniors announced their college choice on the Latin Decisions 2025 Instagram account. Michael believes the popularity of sharing college information is beneficial because it allows students to be supportive and congratulate others.

“We should be happy for everyone and support everyone in what they do,” Michael said. “College can actually be something that brings us together, but if we compare ourselves to one another, that's when it can divide us.”

Alexandra Fields, Latin’s Director of College Counseling, hopes that students using these platforms feel accomplished and properly celebrated for their achievements. She described the current college decision culture as supportive, even at the expense of student privacy.

“The school is so small, so it's easy for students to think they know what is going on in their classmates' lives,” Ms. Fields said. “It is very hard to keep things private, even if a student tries.”

The Instagram page is set to public, meaning followers and non-followers can see the posts. Ms. Fields has mixed feelings about the decision pages.

“If students want to post and celebrate one another, I think that's great, though I don't like when students read into a student not posting,” she said.

While the Instagram posts are meant to celebrate a specific student’s achievement, the official Latin School’s list of school acceptances from 2020-24 does not include any information about individual students.

“While some students might feel comfortable having their name published, some might not, and that's not a call that feels appropriate for Latin to make on a student's behalf,” Ms. Fields said.

Additionally, Ms. Fields believes that when accomplishments are tied to specific students, it can create a toxic culture.

“I wish we were a place that could talk about college and college acceptances without feeding into competition and comparison, but unfortunately, that's not the reality of our community right now,” Ms. Fields said.

Yet many students still appreciate sharing their decisions and getting to support their peers. “I think it is a good way for students who have been accepted to their college to display what they've worked hard to earn,” Teagan said. “Even if you're not the greatest friends with someone, everyone congratulates everyone. It brings the community together.”