Video envy

High school seniors who post college acceptance reaction videos want to share their joy of success with the world at large for reasons of their choosing, but the sobering reality is that these public displays of victory come from a minority. To many who do not belong in that minority, such videos can feel like someone just wants to ‘rub it in’.

The statistics are clear: most applicants to elite colleges do not get admitted. Some applicants apply because they can, but are realistic about their chances. However, there are thousands of applicants who believe they are qualified to be a student at an elite college, only to be baffled (to put it mildly) when their quest does not have a happy ending (https://www.wsj.com/story/she-scored-1550-on-her-sats-top-us-colleges-still-rejected-her-68767071).

For those who will start their college freshman year at the school of their dreams, we congratulate and wish them all the best. For everyone else, just ignore reaction videos.