Back in the day, social media accounts for college classes would get started by an excited student. Word would spread. Roommate surveys would be created. It was a good time...until companies got involved.
In 2008, someone working for a company called College Prowler (now Niche) created hundreds of Facebook groups for incoming classes. A bunch of admission officers who were on social media at the time collaborated to track down all the "fake" accounts. Here's a rundown of the story from a blog that no longer exists.
In 2010, this was still happening. It involved the same people, but they were working for a roommate matching website. The Choice blog at the New York Times covered what was happening and the Washington Post covered it as well.
These days, this activity is happening on GroupMe, What's App, and Instagram. There are dozens of "official" incoming class accounts for every college on those platforms. Please be careful about sharing your personal information on social media. They are not affiliated with UVA. One is actually selling tickets to "Welcome Week." There is no "Welcome Week" party at UVA. The first week here is called Wahoo Welcome and aside from maybe needing a ticket for the big concert that week, you don't pay for Wahoo Welcome.
UVA offices like Orientation, Housing, and Dining will communicate with your via email, from virginia.edu email accounts. They have portals where you'll carry out transactions securely (registering for Orientation, signing up for Housing, requesting a roommate, etc.).
By the way, the website for that "Welcome Week" account is registered in Iceland.
