By the numbers

The network,
counted.

Every count here is read from the database that runs this site, with a plain note on what it counts, and the page is updated whenever a feature is posted. Each sentence carries its own date, so it can be quoted as written.

Last updated October 27, 2026 at 1:16 AM Central.

The numbers

1,356

features posted through collegeconnecthq.com

As of October 27, 2026, College Connect has posted 1,356 student features through collegeconnecthq.com since the site launched on August 30, 2026.

How we count. A feature counts once a page manager marks it posted in the site's queue. 1,354 were submitted by students on the site, and 2 were entered by a page manager for a student who sent their photos and bio by DM. All of them went up in the 2026-27 season, which runs from August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027. The site doesn't record each student's class year, so the count can include some Class of 2030 students. Features the pages posted before the site launched aren't counted.

Link to this: features posted through collegeconnecthq.com

25

live Class of 2031 pages

As of October 27, 2026, College Connect runs 25 Class of 2031 Instagram pages that are open for features on collegeconnecthq.com.

How we count. A page counts while it's open for features on this site, with its own school page here. Pages that have closed or haven't launched yet aren't counted. Each one is independent and student-run, and none is affiliated with its university.

18 of 25

pages free to post on

As of October 27, 2026, posting a feature is free on 18 of the 25 pages, and the other 7 charge a one-time feature price.

How we count. A free page charges nothing for a feature; its only ask is an optional $2 song donation. A paid page charges a one-time price for the post and story.

17h

median wait from the queue to posted

Over the 30 days to October 27, 2026, the median feature went up 17 hours after it entered the review queue (1,059 features).

How we count. The promise is live within 48 hours of approval, or 24 if it skips the line. The site records when a feature enters the review queue (when it's paid for, or when it's submitted on a free page) and when it's marked posted, but not the moment it's approved, so this measures the whole wait, review included. That can only run longer than the time from approval. Features a page manager entered for a student who sent their photos by DM are left out, since they're entered already approved and never wait in the queue. Median means half went up faster and half took longer.

12%

of features skipped the line

As of October 27, 2026, 12% of the features students submitted on the site since September 16, 2026 and that have been posted skipped the line (156 of 1,331).

How we count. Skipping the line moves a feature to the faster lane: live within 24 hours of approval instead of 48. A student gets it by buying it on a paid page that sells it or, since October 14, 2026, by giving the optional $2 song donation on a free page. We count from September 16, 2026, the day it launched. The share is out of every posted feature students submitted on the site since then, including ones that had no way to skip, like those on a page that doesn't sell it, so it can read lower than the share among features that could skip.

2023

founded, August 2023

College Connect was founded in August 2023 by John Kutilek, then a 19-year-old college student.

How we count. The network began on Instagram in August 2023. This site came later: it launched on August 30, 2026.

Where the pages are

Pages by region.

As of October 27, 2026, 9 of College Connect's 25 live pages are in the Midwest, 11 are in the South and 5 are in the West, by U.S. Census Bureau region and the state each university is in.

Regions: U.S. Census Bureau regions and divisions map (PDF) (opens in a new tab)

Midwest: 9 pages

South: 11 pages

West: 5 pages

How this page works

  • Every count is read from the site's database. The figures are read again whenever a feature is posted or a class page is added, closed or changed, and the time at the top says when these figures were read.
  • The founding year and each school's region aren't counts: the founding year is fixed, and a school's region follows the state its university is in.
  • Dates and times are Central (College Connect is based in Iowa City).
  • Follower counts aren't listed here. Each page's count is on its Instagram profile.
  • Every card has a “Link to this” link for citing just that number, like /about/numbers#turnaround.

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