Three University of St. Thomas interns spent the lunch hour dashing around campus, cell phones and microphone in hand, asking fellow students: Do you want to be in a video?
They were on a mission to film a TikTok video outlining 23 reasons teenagers should enroll at the private university in St. Paul. One by one they gathered answers. "Dance team." "Rowing team." "The music program." "My cousin."
As the competition for new college students intensifies and crucial admissions deadlines loom, a growing number of Minnesota universities are handing their TikTok accounts over to their students, who understand the social media platform best. Schools still offer tours and other events on campus, but TikTok gives them a chance to catch teenagers' attention while they're scrolling through their phones.
"Obviously, the way students do their college search is changing always," said Kristen Hatfield, the university's director of admissions. "And so, it's great to have student interns who have been through it not that long ago."
A survey released by Pew Research Center last year found that nearly 67% of American teenagers use TikTok, an app that allows people to share short video clips — and 16% say they use it almost constantly. That surpasses their usage of other platforms like Facebook and Twitter that were favored by previous generations.
While some schools have shunned the platform over security concerns, many others are embracing it, noting that they're not sharing sensitive information and it's increasingly important to find students in spaces that feel comfortable to them.
College recruitment is expected to get more difficult in the coming years. The number of U.S. high school graduates is expected to begin decreasing after 2025, due in part to a drop in birth rates that began in 2008.
This stage in the recruitment process is especially crucial. Many colleges set a May 1 deadline for enrolling, though some continue to work with prospective students after that.
In earlier stages of the admissions process, students are deciding what to study, where to apply, and whether their financial aid offers are adequate. When they've narrowed it down to the last few schools, both admissions officers and current students say the final decision often comes down to a different question: Can they envision a life there?
The TikTok videos offer a glimpse of that life — often with a laugh thrown in.
Horses and winter shorts
A video from the University of Minnesota, Crookston, shows Ted the quarter horse ranking foods given to him by students. Apples are juicy and score 10 out of 10. Lettuce is bland and scores just five.
Another video follows a student traveling from a morning class to a carwash fundraiser and then to a lab where students are taking a blood draw for a horse.
"We feel that when the students are talking about what they're up to, what classes they're in, what they're involved in, what it's like to be a student here, that really just resonates with that age group," said Jess Bengtson, a communications specialist at Crookston.
Carleton College launched its TikTok account last summer, with the help of eight student fellows. Among them was Stella Dennehy, a junior, who continues to run the account now.
Some of the videos are focused plainly on recruitment, highlighting the dates for admitted student events or campus tours, or announcing application deadlines.
Others are meant to be fun and light-hearted, and capture the off-beat sense of humor that permeates the campus culture. One highlights the fashion available at the campus bookstore. Another notes which dining hall has the flourless chocolate torte. Another jokes about Oscar, the taxidermy penguin that serves as an unofficial mascot.
And another shows a student explaining the decision to wear shorts when it's 20 below: "It's not that cold."
"Alums can talk about the college. Staff can talk about the college. But the only person who is able to tell you what it's truly like to attend it in this moment is the student," Dennehy said.
The University of St. Thomas is relying on just that approach. Videos produced by its student interns tend to be some of the most popular, with many garnering thousands of views.
In one video, intern Sophia Huber asks fellow Tommies to rattle off digits in the number pi in exchange for a slice of pie. In another, intern Olivia Russell dances off into the Easter break. In another, intern Sofia Miranda asks students to guess whether lyrics were written by William Shakespeare or Taylor Swift.
The interns, all students in the business program, get a chance to work in the "future of marketing," Huber said. The university gains from having the students' perspective.
"It's the perfect marriage," Hatfield said.
