On Sunday, October 11th, high school senior Ricky Goldman, while scrolling through Instagram, stumbled upon the official account of Harvard University, the prestigious Ivy League institution that he would be applying to for first-year admissions later in the month. Upon discovery, Goldman promptly clicked ‘Follow’ and liked every post on the account since 2013.

“This will boost my chances of getting into Harvard for sure!” Goldman told us, “colleges love demonstrated interest!”

When we asked Goldman if he thought that his regional admissions counselor would be checking the Instagram account to see who likes the posts, he responded, “No way, that would be silly! Obviously, the administrator who runs the account sends the names to the admissions counselors so that they can see it that way.”

A representative from Harvard University gave us an in-depth look as to how much of an influence social media truly plays in acceptance.

A ‘follow’ and ‘liking’ posts regularly awards a student a second look at their application. Constant direct messages grant them an advocate on their behalf. Spamming the comment section with, “So beautiful, can’t wait to be there one day,” or, “Oh Harvard, my dream college,” practically guarantees acceptance.