r/college rules, stats, and what to post
Know the rules before you post. So easy grandma can do it.
- To post
- 7 day old account
- To comment
- 7 day old account
- Self-promotion
- Banned
- Links
- Banned
- Promo risk
- High
- From the rules, not from removal counts
- Community age
- 18 years
- Since Jan 2008
About r/college
A source-backed Rankhog guide to r/college: public rules, community context, posting fit, and startup-promotion risk before you publish.Checked from the r/college rules on Reddit.
r/college rules
11 rules, in the community's own words.
- 1
No Spam, Surveys, Requests for Participation, or Self-Promotion
Absolutely no surveys, polling, market research, requests for participation, advertising, crowdsourcing, petitions, referral links, selling services, blogs, startup posts, discord links, or asking for money/votes/views.
- 2
No Admissions or Transfer Questions
Questions about applying to college, entrance exams, "chance me" threads, high school prep, or comparing schools are not allowed. Please post these in r/ApplyingToCollege, r/collegecompare, or r/CollegeTransfer.
- 3
Be Respectful, Safe, & Sane
Civility: No racism, harassment, threats, trolling, insanity, or hateful content. Do not send unsolicited DMs. Mental Health: Posts regarding suicide or self-harm are prohibited. This is not a professional resource; please seek appropriate medical or psychiatric help.
- 4
No Illegal or Unethical Behavior
Do not engage in or advocate for cheating, plagiarism, essay writing services, improper drug use, criminal behavior, unethical behavior, or copyright violations (e.g., textbook piracy).
- 5
No Venting, Low-Quality, or Pointless Posts
No low-effort posts, memes, reaction gifs, 'arbitrary picture with a story', copypasta, or walls of unformatted text. Use punctuation/capitalization and readable formatting. Do not make posts that are generally pointless, requests for generic advice, grade begging, displays of incompetence, or venting. Titles: Your post title must clearly state the topic or question, or the thread will be removed.
- 6
No Major or Career Specific Questions
If you have a major or career specific question, subreddits dedicated to that industry can provide much more relevant and focused guidance. Posts asking the community to choose your major, rank a list of majors for you, or determine your career path based on a short bio are prohibited. Choosing a major is a deeply personal decision that requires professional academic advising and self-reflection that Reddit cannot provide.
- 7
Do Not Post About Disallowed Topics
This space is for discussing the college experience. It is not for a place for a specific university, course, book, major, or program. It is not the place to adjudicate grading or interpersonal disputes. Take homework help, tech support, laptop questions, product recommendations, grading complaints, dating/social advice, therapy sessions, and topics unrelated to college to more appropriate subreddits.
- 8
Do Your Own Research First
Do not post easily searchable questions, questions with obvious solutions, questions regarding specific schedules, or GPA calculation questions. If the clear answer to your question is to ask your professor, to talk to your advisor/school, or to use basic common sense, do not post it here.
- 9
Do Not Spread Misinformation
Do not post or advocate for factually incorrect or misleading information. Do not cite or link to propaganda.
- 10
Account & Language Requirements
Minimums: Your account must be at least 1 week old with 10+ karma to participate. English Only: All posts and comments must be in English.
- 11
Ban Evasion / Bot / AI
There is zero tolerance for AI responses/posts, bots, or creating alt accounts to evade bans. This will result in an immediate and permanent ban.
What to post in r/college
What fits the room, and what gets removed.
Works well
- Sharing general observations about the college experience that are not tied to a single institution.
- Asking high level questions about the general challenges of navigating college life, provided the question is not easily searchable.
- Providing general, high quality tips or insights related to the collegiate environment.
- Starting discussions about broad trends in higher education that are not specific to a course or major.
Avoid
- Posting anything that counts as self-promotion, advertising, or selling services because of the “No Spam, Surveys, Requests for Participation, or Self-Promotion” rule.
- Asking for specific career or major advice because the “No Major or Career Specific Questions” rule says Reddit cannot provide that.
- Submitting content that was generated by artificial intelligence because of the “Ban Evasion / Bot / AI” rule.
- Posting low-effort content, memes, or walls of unformatted text, which violates the “No Venting, Low-Quality, or Pointless Posts” rule.
- Focusing on a specific university, course, or book because the “Do Not Post About Disallowed Topics” rule restricts the scope to the general college experience.
Best hours to post in r/college
No pattern yet. r/college does not have enough top posts from the last 90 days to name its best hours.
What r/college Is For
This subreddit is for discussion related to college and collegiate life. It is a place for general conversations about the college experience, but it is not a place for discussing specific universities, courses, books, majors, or programs.
Rules That Matter Before Posting
The rules that will most decide if a marketing adjacent post survives are “No Spam, Surveys, Requests for Participation, or Self-Promotion”, “No Venting, Low-Quality, or Pointless Posts”, “No Major or Career Specific Questions”, “Do Not Post About Disallowed Topics”, and “Ban Evasion / Bot / AI”.
What To Post
Since you are doing respectful Reddit marketing, you should post content that is high quality and contributes to the general college experience. Focus on broad topics that are interesting to students and do not ask for money or votes. Your post must have a clear title that states the topic or question.
What To Avoid
You must avoid posting anything that falls under “No Spam, Surveys, Requests for Participation, or Self-Promotion”. You also cannot post about specific majors or career paths because of the “No Major or Career Specific Questions” rule. Furthermore, you must not post anything that is low-effort or generally pointless, as per the “No Venting, Low-Quality, or Pointless Posts” rule.
A note from Anthony
The rules here are extremely strict, especially regarding the prohibition of AI content. It makes sense that they have such a strong stance against low-quality or generic posts, given that they have no observed top posts. It really forces anyone posting here to bring high value to the general college conversation.
By Anthony Riera, founder and operator of Rankhog. Every guide is built from the community's own public rules and data, then checked by Rankhog's grounding audit before it goes live.
Common questions about r/college
What subreddits are similar to r/college?
Subreddits like r/college are r/GradSchool, r/csMajors, r/MBA, r/studytips, r/Universitaly, r/Students, r/uofmn and r/UniRO.
What are the minimum requirements before I can even post here?
You must have an account that is at least one week old and have 10 or more karma to participate in this community.
What kind of topics are allowed in r/college?
This community is for general discussion related to college and collegiate life, but it is not for specific university discussions, course help, or major advice.
Does my post need a specific format or title?
You must ensure your post title clearly states the topic or question, otherwise, the thread will be removed.
Subreddits like r/college
Other rooms for the same crowd.