College-bound Generation Z chooses a school based on what it will look like on TikTok

There are so many reasons to choose where to study, but for the TikTok generation, the deciding factor is how aesthetically pleasing campus life will be.

Gen Z bases their higher education decision on how well it can be documented on social media platforms like TikTok.

Morgan McGuire a university-bound content creatortold Teen fashion that when choosing a university she takes into account her massive following of almost 770,000, taking into account the aesthetics of the campus and extracurricular activities.

She admitted that she often prioritizes TikTok content over everything else — even sleep.

“I feel like doing my content… it just feels more important because I care about that more,” the high school student said.

Tyjai Jackson – an 18-year-old who has over 78,000 followers on the app – has also built her entire schedule around creating online content.

“I literally woke up at 4 a.m. every day to make a few TikToks before I had to go to school,” she told Teen Vogue of her high school routine. “If you really want to be an influencer or whatever, you need consistency.”

This was evident from a recent survey among Gen Zers 57% of the young generation aspire to be influencersa full-time career that can pay their bills – or college tuition.

So far in 2024, McGuire has raked in $81,000 from both brand deals and the Creator Fund on TikTok, which she is using to invest in a retirement fund and pay for her education.

Creator Peyton Mikolajekwho is now a freshman at Johns Hopkins University, was paid $7,000 for just one sponsored video as a high school student, a phenomenon that industry insiders say is not uncommon.

Max Elk, senior talent manager at Grail Talent, told Teen Vogue that high school students can make “incredible” money from social media “because they have something these brands want”: a platform with a huge following.

Middle-aged influencers across the country dominate TikTok, regularly posting content decorating dorm rooms or sharing day-in-the-life videos where you go to class, completing schoolwork or just having fun on campus.

The TikTok tag #collegelife has a whopping 2.3 million posts and more than 30 billion views, and the type of content emanating from campuses across the country shapes potential students’ decisions about where to apply and engage. told Business Insider.

College counselor Greg Kaplan told the outlet that he has seen students completely change where they want to apply for higher education based solely on what they see on social media of their favorite creators attending those schools.

“It was definitely a very helpful tool to experience these campuses without actually visiting them in person,” content creator and Harvard freshman Helaine Zhaowhich posts college-specific content, Insider told us.

The vignettes of campus life can be particularly helpful for potential applicants to get a “vibe check,” added Lucie Vágnerová, co-founder of BKT Education.

“You might see a clip from the cafeteria, people kicking a soccer ball around the quad, or even whether it’s stressful to study in the library,” she told Insider. “Just real life stuff that a college website won’t necessarily tell you.”