Ah… The Fieldston Class of ‘23 Instagram account. Known and loved by many. Run by Izzy Casdin (VI), the account is a way to celebrate the seniors on their accomplishments and commitment to a college. For those unfamiliar with the account or not on Instagram, each post consists of a baby photo, school and major. The captions and comment sections are always filled with love, celebration and inside jokes.
I admit it can be entertaining to scroll through the page and see where many seniors are going to college – and I know many other high school students can relate to this. The baby photos are adorable and the captions are fun. And it is exciting to see where the seniors will be going to college!
However, I had heard around that there was some frustration that the account was posting this early in the year.
First, to learn more about the account, I went to Izzy Casdin. Casdin said, “The account is simply a fun way for all of us to celebrate each other.” She explained that she tried to make all of the captions personal and added that another thing she really liked is that “almost every post has the same amount of likes and comments. So even if people aren’t friends with someone, they’re still celebrating them and wishing them congratulations.”
That being said, there has been a tad bit of controversy about accounts like ours posting this early in the year.
Many private schools like Riverdale or Columbia Prep have accounts announcing where seniors are off to college. Izzy Casdin also notes that many public schools such as Beacon and Bronx Science have these accounts. Some accounts, such as the Dalton Class of 2023 account, are waiting to post until the spring.
However, when Fieldston’s account began to post in February, I did not think it was a great idea. I worried that for some, it would be difficult to see over their feed where many of their classmates were accepted to college. I didn’t see any problem with waiting until colleges released regular decisions to begin posting on the account. The college process, especially at certain schools and in certain school environments, can be very competitive and I believed that accounts posting when not everyone has been admitted or committed to a college could be stressful for students. However, I acknowledge I am not a senior, and my opinion wasn’t the most important in this conversation. So, I took it upon myself to figure out what the different opinions amongst the senior class were.
When interviewing Alejandra Chavez-Flores (VI), she explained to me that “the college process causes a lot of anxiety… and it makes you forget logic a lot of the time. If you’re seeing dozens and dozens of people being accepted to these amazing schools, it can definitely make you feel like you’re not far along in the process and like you’re falling behind or doing something wrong, which isn’t true.”
Similarly, an anonymous senior also thinks that the account should begin posting decisions later in the year. They think that these accounts add to the already existing gossip about college, who’s going where, who applied where, and more. Although this conversation already exists heavily among the senior class, accounts heighten those discussions, and possibly stress.
When speaking with Emmett Levine (VI), he brought up the fact that there was an account that started a few months ago, run anonymously, which many seniors were against and eventually got shut down. Chavez-Flores is one student, among many, that were frustrated when the original account began posting in December. There seemed to be a lot of discussion between seniors regarding when the right time is to start posting and many opinions were tried to take into consideration. To respect this, the posting of college decisions was prolonged until February.
Casdin speaks to this when she said, “I just waited until the general consensus among most people was that it was okay (to begin posting), which was after Early Decisions came out.”
There are many seniors who are okay with the timeline of the account’s postings. Levine said, “If you were really disturbed by college talk in general, then this account may disturb you as well if you are not in. And if you are more confident about ‘whatever happens, happens’ and that’s okay’, then you are probably okay with this.” Although he understands that some may feel stressed seeing where everyone has committed to a school, that that is a personal opinion and it’s difficult to begin posting at a time that pleases everyone.
There is one thing that most seniors seem to agree on. They are incredibly proud of their classmates for their accomplishments and love to congratulate them. It is also really nice for seniors to see how their class comes together and where their long-time classmates will end up.
