Chronically Online: Stanford students reflect on college decision reaction videos

In “Chronically Online,” columnist Chloe Shannon Wong ’28 spotlights Stanford students immersed in the world of the Internet.

It’s a scene tenser than any award-winning thriller: a teen girl sits at her desk, laptop open, shoulders tense. She clicks, dead silence and then…

“Oh my God!” she screams. She leaps from her seat. 

Makyla Ann Cervantes ’28 was one of many current frosh to open a Stanford acceptance letter. But only some have their reactions immortalized on the internet. 

College decision reaction videos — in which students compile and post their reactions to college acceptances, waitlists or rejections on YouTube — are an inevitability after application season. The most popular reaction videos can rack up millions of views, with bright, crest-filled thumbnails and enticing titles (like “NO SAFETIES!!!”).

Other online resources — the “ApplyingtoCollege” subreddit and College Confidential — may provide more practical guidance during application season. But reaction videos offer something equally essential to a bright-eyed teenager: dreams. 

On inspiring others

As a high school junior, Cervantes “religiously” watched college acceptance videos. Her school didn’t regularly send students to selective universities, but Cervantes knew a girl who was accepted into an Ivy League school. That, she said, gave her “a shred of courage” as she applied to competitive universities. 

Cervantes’ early Harvard acceptance inspired her to film subsequent reactions, hoping to show others in her high school what was possible.

“When I first opened my [Stanford] letter, it felt a little bit foreign, unknown,” Cervantes said. But since starting fall quarter, that uncertainty has dissipated. She enjoys Stanford’s strong economics program, its alumni network, the spontaneous thrill of fountain-hopping and Band Run.

And as she embarks on her college journey, Cervantes hopes her reaction video continues to benefit prospective applicants. 

“I’ve gotten messages from young girls from other countries, including countries in Africa and South America and Central America who feel empowered to apply because of the video,” Cervantes said. “They told me, ‘Oh, wow, Makyla, before I wasn’t thinking of [applying]. But your story filled me with so much hope that I’m going to.’”

“Have that hope,” Cervantes tells viewers in the final minutes of her reaction video. She encourages potential applicants to pursue what they truly love because there might be a school that will “see you for everything that you’ve done.”

“They’ll see you for your character, your willingness to lead and to continue to inspire hope in the community,” she says in the video.

On movie moments

Mia Grace Davis’ ’27 Stanford acceptance letter came after a string of waitlists. At the time, she felt like she was occupying a “middle ground.”

“It’s like, you’re good, but you’re not good enough,” Davis said in her reaction video. “That was kind of the message I was receiving. So opening that [Stanford] letter and seeing the confetti was genuinely [shocking]. My reaction was completely authentic, you know?”

She described her acceptance as a “movie moment” that fit the unintentional storyline of her decision season. But Davis always planned on posting a reaction video, even without that climax of a Stanford acceptance. She hopes her video conveys everyone’s college process is different, and that “it’ll all work out the way it’s supposed to.” 

As a sophomore at Stanford, Davis still experiences moments of surreality.

“There are days when I wake up, and I’m like, how am I here right now?” Davis said. “I’m in a Stanford dorm, getting my education here. I guess it’s impossible to sustain that feeling of immense shock and joy, but I am always consistently so blessed and honored and grateful to be here…this is my place and this is where I belong.”

On changing perspectives

Stanford was “the LAST place” Francesca Fernandes ’25 wanted to go, according to her blog entry “Choosing Stanford.”

In her reaction video, she opens her Stanford letter with a Yale acceptance already in hand.

“Oh, I got in,” she quietly exclaimed. “Oh my God, okay, I can’t think.”

Fernandes wrote that she “prayed for a rejection” on the day Stanford released admission decisions. She is originally from the Bay Area and had little intention of staying for college.

“At the time, I was a lot more interested in studying political science,” Fernandes said. “I applied to a lot of schools that were very humanities-oriented.” 

Yale was her dream. Ultimately, though, she committed to Stanford. According to Fernandes, it was cheaper, closer and would please her mom. She was “forlorn” as she declined Yale’s admission offer. But as a senior in college, Fernandes’ feelings have changed. 

At the Farm, for instance, she’s nurtured her love for STEM — the physics program, she’s found, is superior to those of other universities. 

“I definitely don’t regret coming here,” Fernandes said. “And it’s a decision I would make again.” 

On capturing emotion

Heechan Lim ’28 wanted people to watch his reaction video and “feel seen.” His college reaction video is no casually-shot compilation, but a short film with an instrumental soundtrack, cinematic framing and dramatic lighting. 

It also contains a more meticulous narrative than most reaction videos: Lim personifies various academic institutions, dissecting how acceptance or rejection might affect his filmmaking dreams. 

“I wanted to capture some of the anxieties through the cinematography,” he said. “I wanted to capture the experience, the chaos and the pressure that can appear during the college decisions process.”

Lim no longer feels the disbelief he did on decision day. As a frosh, reality has set in. He knows he’ll “have to do really hard work” at Stanford.

“By the books, I could have gotten into a lot of colleges that I didn’t get into. And by the books, I got into colleges that maybe I shouldn’t have,” Lim said. 

Lim’s video reveals his hopes for film school and future Oscars. But it took several film school rejections for him to realize that he “can’t depend” on any academic institution. 

A quick glance at the comment sections of YouTube reaction videos reveals the pride, kinship and yearning these videos inspire.

“THIS WAS EXACTLY ME!” reads a comment under Davis’ video. “EXPECTED FULL REJECTION FROM STANFORD AND THEN I GOT IN.” Meanwhile, viewers told Cervantes, “Be sure that the brightest future is ahead of you!” One viewer, “iluvyale2321,” asked Fernandes, “Can you talk about your stats and especially your [extracurriculars]?”

Lim believes that people make and watch college decision reactions out of fear of the process, or because they glorify a certain university. However, Lim said, college is what you make of it — so it’s better to avoid idolizing any specific school. 

“It’s easy to get lost in the glitz and glamor of prestigious colleges,” Lim said. “That’s what they want from you.” 

As for Lim’s comment section? 

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you,” one user said. “I may not know where I will end up, but regardless of where I go, that will not define my future. Only I can do that.”

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