"I Got In!" - Special Needs Student Opening Her College Acceptance Letter Goes Viral

NBC – Getting a college acceptance letter is an occasion to celebrate. And for Rachel Grace, a young woman with Down Syndrome, the moment has been celebrated by millions of people.

Grace, 20, applied to the Career Independent Living and Learning Studies program at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, a certificate program for students with intellectual disabilities that only accepts a handful of students each year.

When the letter from East Stroudsburg came back, Grace’s parents videotaped her opening it.

In the video, Grace starts to read the letter aloud, then yells, “I got in! I got into college! I got in!” as her family cheers. The heartwarming clip has been viewed more than 14 million times online.

Grace’s mom Deb told NBC News she has been “shocked” by the attention it’s garnered, but she said Grace isn’t fazed by it.

“She just takes things in stride,” Deb Grace said.

The program Grace got into is three years long and teaches students skills for jobs and living independently, said East Stroudsburg Dean of the College of Education Dr. Terry Barry.

“We’re thrilled for Rachel,” he added. “It’s a great opportunity and we will really welcome her on campus.”

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I love videos like this so much. For two reasons – one, because they’re awesome. Two, because the fact that I still think they’re awesome convinces me I still haven’t fully transformed into an evil cynical hating-ass smut blogger. Still a little bit of heart in here deep down.

PS,

The parents must have known already that she got in right? I mean that’s just a standard sized envelope there. I don’t know how colleges do it now but back in my day it was, big packet-sized envelope in the mailbox: you’re in. Standard sized envelope: rejection letter. Just saying if the parents didn’t know ahead of time and were just filming their daughter opening a rejection letter this video would be basically the meanest thing ever.