Sharing Admissions Decisions, Through Social Media
Students accepted into Class of 2017 use social media to spread their news
OMG -- I just got into Duke!
That was the theme Wednesday evening as the university's newest students turned to social media to share their happy news about being accepted to the Class of 2017.
By 10 p.m., four hours after high school seniors could log onto the undergraduate admissions website to learn whether they had been admitted, 493 people had joined Duke's official Class of 2017 site on Facebook. That total, which included some current Duke students, climbed above 900 by the following morning.
New Blue Devils also began posting with a #Duke2017 hashtag on Twitter and Instagram, which was compiled in a Storify story, where some displayed their acceptance letters along with their photos. Initial bursts of joy soon gave way to inquiries about where others live and invitations to meet in person. Students searched for new classmates in Miami, Pittsburgh and other cities across the United States, as well as in Malaysia, Ecuador and other foreign countries.
"When I received my admissions decision four years ago, I posted it to Facebook and got a decent number of 'likes,'" said Ashley Alman, a Duke senior and head blogger for the admissions office. "Now, with Instagram, Twitter, Storify and more, admissions decisions are an experience. You can watch the community you're joining come alive. It's more exciting."
Duke accepted more than 2,900 high school seniors, or 9.9 percent of the applicant pool, through its Regular Decision process Wednesday. It previously accepted 753 students through its binding Early Decision program. A record 31,785 students applied for admission to the university this year.
"In addition to using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, we also have been posting stories for admitted students on Tumblr and our student blogs," said Cara Rousseau, the university social media manager, who coordinated the new admissions efforts. "We'll also be using social media extensively over the next several weeks as we welcome admitted students to campus through Blue Devil Days and other events, and as we reach out to them in other ways."
Admitted students must notify Duke's admissions office by May 1 about whether they plan to enroll at the university.