Senior withdraws college commitment after lack of recognition on Instagram

On the Westminster campus, spring ushers in the arrival of cherry blossoms outside of Askew, a padding of soft grass in the cottage village, and perhaps most notably, the annual return of senioritis. As the class of 2020 begrudgingly endures their final semester at Westminster, each week brings an influx of college acceptances as students commit to universities around the world.

To celebrate the students’ college decisions, the senior class officers fill the “Futures of Westminster” page on Facebook and Instagram with the latest college decisions, an utmost sign of a student’s commitment to a school. This year, however, the infamous account neglected to recognize senior Charlie Studious’s acceptance into Wildcat University.

“I was very shocked when my acceptance didn’t appear on the “Futures of Westminster” Instagram page,” said Studious. “I waited for about a day to see if either of the accounts would post that I was going to Wildcat University, but they never did. After all of the work I put into my college applications, it feels horrible knowing it is all going to waste.”

With a following of about 500 Westminster students, alumni, and community members, the senior class officers update the popular Instagram page within minutes of receiving reports of college acceptances. In past years, the acceptance rate for college-bound seniors to appear on the account’s feed has been 100%.

“Maintaining the “Futures of Westminster” Instagram page is one of the most arduous jobs I have ever had,” said senior Lucy Leader. “After I receive a message from a student who has committed to a school, I carefully select a university logo from the Internet and craft a neutral caption that matches the other posts. I usually check for new messages hourly to ensure that I don’t miss anyone’s acceptance.”

Leader attributes her negligence in recognizing Studious to the recent downward trend in college admission rates. Similar to the plight that college admissions officers face each year, accepting every student on the “Futures of Westminster” page has become increasingly more difficult.

“There is definitely more pressure surrounding the maintenance of the “Futures of Westminster” page since so many people rely on technology to hear about college news,” said Leader. “I think we have reached the point where a 100% admission rate to being on the page is just infeasible. I hope that students don’t feel discouraged by the drop to 99.5%, as the class officers would still love for people to submit their request to be on the page.”

Initially, Studious tracked the account to see if they posted about his college decision. After four days of waiting, however, Studious ultimately decided to withdraw his commitment to Wildcat University in order to pursue new interests next fall.

“I think that this is the right decision for me,” said Studious. “Even though getting into college is a goal that I have worked toward throughout high school, I just don’t see myself attending any university if I don’t get recognition on the “Futures of Westminster” page. It is in my best interest to not attend college anymore.”

Instead of attending college, Studious has initiated plans to start a support group for students who don’t receive recognition on the “Futures of Westminster” page. He has gained support for this project from guidance counselor Dena Scott and college counselor Anthea Economy.

“[Studious]’s unfortunate situation goes to show that everything happens for a reason,” said Scott. “I have complete confidence that Studious has a bright future ahead of him, with or without college, and I can’t wait to see what he accomplishes.”