How to Create a “Class of 2030” Instagram Community
In The 2025 College Decision Playbook, we found that Instagram is the most actively used platform among students for researching colleges and connecting with peers before arriving on campus. Over the past four years, MeetYourClass has been the largest facilitator of “Class of 20XX” communities on Instagram—where students actually go on Instagram to take these steps.
We believe every university should manage a “Class of 2030” community for prospective students in the upcoming admissions cycle—not only to enhance the student experience, but also to meaningfully increase the likelihood of enrollment at your institution.
In this blog post, we will explore:
How "Class of 2030" Instagram communities came to be
How to set up and create a “Class of 2030” Instagram community
How to manage a “Class of 2030” Instagram community throughout the year
How to take down accounts that are not affiliated with your institution
How "Class of 2030" Instagram communities came to be
Since Facebook introduced Groups in 2010, “Class of 20XX” communities have been a staple for incoming students to connect, find roommates, and ask questions before arriving on campus. As an example, here is a Facebook group for the “University of Michigan’s Class of 2023.”
Historically, these communities were created and managed by students or parents, independent of the university. However, it’s often a matter of chance whether a student or parent steps up to manage a community—and at smaller institutions, the limited pool of potential initiators frequently means no group forms at all. This can create an inherent gap in community building at smaller institutions compared to schools with larger brand names or undergraduate populations, where groups tend to consistently emerge organically.
At the same time, even when groups do emerge organically, leaving them entirely student- or parent-led is a missed opportunity. Without university involvement, schools forgo the chance to put key enrollment resources in front of students, build trust through official communication, and expand the community beyond what organic Instagram traffic alone can reach. Greater engagement leads to stronger enrollment outcomes—but institutions cannot promote or scale a group they are not officially affiliated with.
While Facebook once dominated this space, today’s students are more often turning to Instagram and other channels they use daily. On Facebook, things are straightforward: universities can quickly set-up a private group, review join requests, verify members against official records, and then largely step back. Facebook Groups are built around open conversation—any student can post, comment, or start discussions without needing approval, allowing the community to sustain itself with minimal oversight.
However, upkeeping a “Class of 2030” community on Instagram—where students will actively look to connect during the Fall 2026 admissions cycle—requires much more intensive effort. Unlike Facebook’s conversation-driven format, Instagram is content-driven. Instead of simply moderating a space, the account manager is responsible for curating and publishing features of each prospective student: typically 1–20 photos with a personalized caption that helps others get to know them. As an example, here is an Instagram account we manage for the “University of Dayton's Class of 2029.”
Students expect their posts to be timely, well-formatted, and seen—making speed, consistency, and quality control essential. Managing one of these communities means fielding dozens (sometimes hundreds) of direct messages from students a week, collecting submissions, formatting content, and maintaining an inviting tone—all while encouraging ongoing engagement through stories, polls, and comments. It’s no longer passive moderation—it’s active content creation and relationship building at scale.
Note: MeetYourClass was created to act as an automated layer on top of Instagram communities—handling all tedious functions such as verifying students before granting access, enabling 24/7 moderation, and curating and executing content. MeetYourClass additionally extends participation to students without Instagram, and helps match behavioral activity on Instagram to CRM records—empowering counselors to deduce student intent before steps like deposits are taken. To discuss having MeetYourClass set-up and manage a “Class of 2030” Instagram community for your institution—or enhance an existing community—please visit our contact form.
How to create and set up a “Class of 2030” Instagram community
Start by downloading the Instagram mobile app or going to www.instagram.com. Next, click “Sign Up” and follow the on-screen instructions. As you complete the sign up process, consider the following fields:
Username Selection Guidelines
There are two key factors to consider when selecting a username for your Instagram account:
Clarity and Purpose
Your username serves as a unique identifier on Instagram and will be part of the link you share for students to view the account—e.g., www.instagram.com/YourUsername. Choose a username that clearly communicates the account’s purpose: it should represent your institution and indicate that the account is intended for incoming students—ideally, the Class of 2030.
Discoverability
The username also affects how easily students can find the account organically. While Instagram does not publicly disclose which naming formats perform best, we recommend using a structure that aligns with common student search behavior. Here are suggested formats to prioritize:
[abbreviation]2030
[abbreviation]classof2030
[abbreviation]2030class
[abbreviation]2030official
[abbreviation]30
For example, if your school is the University of Central Arkansas, you might consider: uca2030, ucaclassof2030, or uca2030official. Using an abbreviation is important since it is more likely that a student will look up “UCA” than fully type out the official name for the university.
Account Name Selection Guidelines
Similar to your username, the account name plays a key role in discoverability—both when students search for your community on Instagram and when the platform’s algorithm recommends it to students.
To maximize discoverability, we recommend using a variation of the institution’s name that is not already covered by the username. For instance, if the username includes “UCA,” consider starting the account name with the full name of the institution or its second most common abbreviation.
Similarly, if your username already covers your abbreviation followed by “2030,” then perhaps, in the account name, start out by listing your abbreviation followed by “Class of 2030.” This approach helps capture additional search queries students might use when looking for the community.
Profile Picture Guidelines
Your profile picture will appear whenever students search for your community on Instagram or when the platform’s algorithm recommends it:
As such, it is important that your profile picture can capture the attention of students, and for the text in it to be large enough to read when it is shrunk to a small scale.
As an official, university-managed account, you have the unique advantage of being able to use your institution’s logo—which immediately captures students’ attention and establishes credibility at a glance. No other “Class of 2030” community is allowed to use your institution’s logo.
We suggest simply coupling your institution's logo with the text “2030” beneath it. Here is a template your team can use to create a profile picture: Canva Template.
Instructions for Students Guidelines
Throughout the Instagram account, it’s important to guide students on how to engage with the community. We recommend including brief instructions in the bio (limited to 150 characters and displayed at the top of your profile) as well as in visually engaging graphics pinned to the top of your feed.
The graphics you pin to the top of your feed should be based on how you specifically choose to run your account (guidelines for this are outlined in the next section). However, to provide a starting ground, here is a basic template your team can use: Canva Template.
How to manage a “Class of 2030” Instagram community throughout the year
The primary content students expect from a Class of 2030 community consists of posts featuring individuals who may attend your institution. Each post is submitted by the student and typically includes 1–20 photos along with a short blurb about their background, interests, excitement about campus, whether they’re looking for a roommate, etc.
You have discretion over who is eligible to be featured. While we strongly recommend allowing all students—from applicants to enrolled students—to participate, some institutions choose to limit posts to only admitted or deposited students. Keep in mind that restricting access to admitted or deposited students can delay community engagement and reduce the opportunity to influence enrollment outcomes earlier in the admissions funnel.
In order to feature students on the account, you will need them to direct message the account:
1–20 pictures of themselves → These are the photos you will upload as the visual content for each individual post.
A short blurb about their background, interests, excitement about campus, whether they’re looking for a roommate, etc. → This will serve as the caption accompanying the photos on the post.
Proof that they are eligible to be featured (e.g., a screenshot of their application portal or acceptance letter) → This serves as a basic filtration step to ensure only legitimate students are featured.
Once you have fielded this information from students, these are the steps you take to create an individual feature:
As an added layer of verification, cross-check the student’s information against your CRM records.
Save the photos they submitted to your camera roll or desktop.
Copy their submitted blurb to your clipboard.
Return to the Instagram home page and click “Create a Post.”
Upload the post content by selecting the 1–20 images, then paste the blurb into the caption field.
Additional, albeit optional, steps that students will expect if you take include:
Select “Tag people” and enter the student’s Instagram username.
At the bottom of the caption, add: “Instagram: @[student’s username]”
Once the post is live, also share it to the Instagram account’s story to increase visibility.
We also recommend adding relevant hashtags to each post and tagging your institution’s name as the location. These steps help increase the visibility of this content throughout Instagram’s search and discovery features.
In addition to these steps, students may also request edits to their post captions after publishing—often to reflect updated preferences (e.g., changing to “100% committed” or noting they’ve found a roommate but are still looking for friends). Some may also ask for their post to be deleted if they’ve committed to another school or no longer wish to be featured.
Note: MeetYourClass automates all of these tasks—saving ~7-10 minutes per feature for administrators, and leading to a much smoother process for students. To see how MeetYourClass automatically runs “Class of 2030” Instagram communities, you can schedule a demo through our contact form.
How to take down accounts that are not affiliated with your institution
Prior to you creating a “Class of 2030” account or after the fact, you may notice other, unofficial accounts being created. At MeetYourClass, we continuously see that accounts affiliated with the schools perform better—students trust them more, the account being university-branded catches their eyes quicker, and free access pulls attention away from pay-to-join communities almost overnight. Nevertheless, if you want to take steps to ensure unofficial accounts do not exist, there are two practical enforcement options:
Trademark Report Form via Instagram: Complete Instagram’s trademark-infringement form and request removal of the handle, bio text, or profile image. The link to the form is here: https://help.instagram.com/contact/230197320740525.
Cease-and-Desist Letter: Send a formal notice demanding the operator stop using the university’s marks.
Note: Before proceeding, weigh the “likelihood-of-confusion test” that both courts and platforms apply. This standard evaluates whether a typical student would reasonably believe the account is officially affiliated with the institution. Many “Class of 20XX” use only shorthand references, include prominent “unofficial/not affiliated” disclaimers, and steer clear of official logos or institutional branding. Even if a trademarked element like your institution’s name is used, platforms may allow the account to remain active.
Conclusion
The mere act of featuring students on a Class of 2030 Instagram community drives high levels of organic engagement. Without any formal promotion, students will discover the community on their own, begin forming friendships, and build a sense of belonging—all of which significantly increases their likelihood of enrolling at your institution.
In addition to fostering these peer connections, you’ll gain a powerful marketing and communications channel with reach far beyond just prospective students. These accounts capture the attention of friends, siblings, parents, classmates, and others in their networks. In fact, during April alone, we typically see viewership levels around 30 times higher than the follower count—even with follower counts organically reaching ~70% of the incoming first-year class.
At MeetYourClass, we believe every institution should empower students with access to this kind of community—on the platforms they already use every day—regardless of whether they choose to partner with us. If your institution is planning to launch a “Class of 2030” community or already manages one, we’d be happy to provide a free audit and offer friendly, no-strings-attached guidance to support your efforts!
