May 1 marks one of the most important days in one’s high school career — not prom, not graduation, but college decision day. National Decision Day is a special occasion for high school seniors to declare their new home for the next four years. Although this day serves as a deadline for first-year applicants to commit to their school of choice, many students also consider May 1 the day to announce their higher education plans to their friends, families, and social media followers.
College decisions can be revealed in many ways. For me personally, I got to announce my college decision at a school-wide event. The graduating class all wore their college paraphernalia and declared their future to the entire school. It was so fun and special.
But in the age of social media — and specifically in the age of the queen, Nicole Laeno — many soon-to-be college students are turning to social media for their college reveals. Not only is a college announcement on TikTok super fun and trendy, but it can even help you connect with other students going to your new school, before you even step foot on campus! Talk about making a good first impression.
For those who are excited to announce your big life decision on social media, but are kind of stumped on how to do so, look no further — here are some college decision day reveal TikTok ideas you can recreate for your own feed.
1. Balloon Arch Entrance
Not only does this reveal get your family and friends involved, but it’s also is a fun way to “pick a side” if you’re deciding between two schools! When you walk out, all you need to do is step to the side that shows your school colors, while wearing your college merch.
2. Water Balloon Splash
If you’re looking to make a ~splash~ for your college reveal, consider using water balloons and sidewalk chalk to show off your decision. To do this reveal, you draw the logo of your top choices on the sidewalk and go one by one dropping water balloons on each logo until your final decision is left, dry and intact.
3. Cake Cutting
Is it a boy? Is it a girl? It’s your future college! Like how many people cut cakes for gender reveals, all you need to do for this is ask a bakery (or DIY at-home baker) to dye the cake batter your school colors, then cover it with inconspicuous frosting. When you cut the cake, it’ll reveal your college of choice!
4. Confetti & A Banner
To reveal this way, hang up a tapestry repping your school (which you can most likely find online or at your campus’ bookstore). Then, with a countdown, you release the tapestry and pop some matching confetti. Bonus points if you do this with a sibling or bestie so you can reveal your schools to each other at the same time.
5. Boxed Balloons
Another one that’s similar to a gender reveal, you put balloons that are your school’s colors inside the box and tape it shut before the reveal. When it’s time, take the tape off and let the balloons fly out! (Just be sure to catch them before they float away; no need to litter!)
6. T-Shirt Reveal
If you accumulated a lot of merch during college tours, then this reveal is for you. Take all of the shirts you’ve collected from various college and display them on a table. To reveal your choice, you can either put on the shirt that represents your new school, or just hold it up with pride.
7. Burn Away Cake
Burn away cakes are quickly becoming a hot trend on TikTok. With a burn away cake, you light the top layer on fire with a lighter or match, then watch as it’s burned away to reveal an image of your school’s logo underneath. If you don’t have a bakery nearby that makes these cakes, you can try to DIY one — just be careful!
8. College Cookies
For another sweet way to reveal your college of choice, all you need are a few cookies decorated to represent your top colleges. To reveal your school, just take a bite of the cookie that represents your college. Success never tasted so good!
9. Balloon Pop
If you’re looking to go out of high school with a bang, this is for you. In this scenario, use balloons to represent your top school choices. Then, pop the balloons until there’s just one standing — aka, the school you chose.
10. Baseball Caps
Baseball caps are an easy, classic way to show off your future university. Line up the hats representing the schools you were choosing from, then to reveal your university, just put the correct hat on and rep your new school in style.
11. Reveal Photoshoot
This one’s a personal fave of mine. Photoshoots are a very creative way to show off what college you’re going to. You can choose any theme or concept and pair your photoshoot with school merch and pride — then share the results on TikTok for everyone to see.