The Mirror
The trend of college reaction videos
Here’s Justin Chae, a high schooler who’s about to find out if he makes it into Stanford University. Like many others, he’s documenting his experiences of applying and filming the famed, ‘reaction video’ on deadline day.
A typical college reaction video finds a student providing a bit of background context about themselves and the colleges they’ve applied to, followed by a slideshow of reactions to different college decisions, often, with their families by their side.
The fascination with reaction videos
Is it really coming from a space of finding satisfaction for new individuals finding something you’ve experienced? Is it a vicarious need to associate with something new? A ‘you’re just like me’ phenomenon consisting of a cocktail of binging emotions?
Perhaps a combination of the above.
From watching reaction videos of young kids receiving gifts to ardent sports fans & commentators celebrating Sergio Aguero’s 93rd minute winner, we’ve seen reaction videos trend on social media like no other.
College acceptance videos
The college acceptance reaction video acts as a double edged sword. A wealth of information about admission processes, deadlines, courses, etc. available in one video — allows any viewer access to a quick overview of important information. On the other hand — the mirroring effect plays a duplicitous role of increasing our own expectations of having similar outcomes.
Remember the evaluation process looks at each individual and profile as objectively as possible. We’d encourage that you focus on bringing out what makes you unique and try to make it apparent in your application.
We do, however, like the trend of documenting your experiences — at your own risk.
Here’s some of our favorite college acceptance ‘reaction’ videos. With the Masters’ Union final shortlist for R1 announcement round the corner, we hope to add more to the list. Watch Shaurya’s experiences with applying to colleges across the US and Angela’s reaction to the ‘ivy’ day.
To everyone shortlisted, interviewed and waiting for their final results — I wish you all the best of luck!
To everyone applying in R2, please know that’s important to us to continue to keep some spots vacant, in order to build the kind of class we’re seeking. We’d like not to front-load our admissions process in any tradeoff with classroom diversity, a key point that many Masters’ Union students credit.
So if you’re sitting there thinking, ‘hey, is it too late to apply in round 2?’ — let me tell you — no, it’s not. However, I recommend you to get prepared, complete and submit your application before our deadline of 20th March.
