Catalyzed by a desire to document an unprecedented college experience—and often to occupy newfound free-time during the beginning of the pandemic—Duke students have turned to Youtube to share their content.
The college YouTuber is a popular genre. One of the most successful of such creators, Nicolas Chae, details his life at Princeton University to an audience of over 125,000 subscribers. These videos often take form as a day-in-the-life or admissions overview and can rack up millions of views.
This genre, though, often presents a rosy side of college life that lacks the day-to-day challenges students go through. Some students, like sophomore Joanne Gabriel, work to present the most accurate version of Duke possible.
“I want to give people an opportunity to know Duke,” Gabriel said. She added that everyone knows Duke is a good school, but there are many things she wished she knew before she came to campus.
In one of Gabriel’s most viewed videos, “*WATCH THIS BEFORE PICKING DUKE* | the cons of duke university,” she talks about some of the things she dislikes most about Duke. In the description, she noted that the video is “not intended to discourage anyone from applying to or accepting Duke.”
“I’m just here to inform you guys,” she wrote.
One of junior Andrew Nguyen’s most popular videos, “A rEaLIsTic WeeKeND aT dUkE uNiVErSitY (during covid),” depicts a typical, “semi-productive, semi-fun weekend” at Duke.
One of junior Andrew Nguyen's most popular videos depicts a typical, “semi-productive, semi-fun weekend” at Duke.
Viewers turn to this type of content to learn about being a student at Duke, as well as to gain insights into the admissions process. One viewer of Gabriel’s "DAY IN THE LIFE OF A DUKE UNIVERSITY STUDENT" video remarked “I’m literally 13 and duke is my dream school.” Another commenter wrote, “Duke’s been my dream school since kindergarten and I have 2 years to go! Please keep these vlogs up!”
Gabriel and other student YouTubers said that they receive many direct messages and comments asking how they got accepted into Duke. They also noted how aspiring Duke students sometimes request feedback on admissions essays or applications, and they are often happy to assist their viewers in any way they can, even though they have no official capacity within the admissions process.
However, many of the student YouTubers also use the platform as purely a creative outlet—independent of their academic and professional lives.
“When you make it into a career, it adds a lot of extra pressure,” said first-year Christina Yoh. “I kind of post anything I want to post.”
Yoh went on to say that she enjoys documenting this phase of her life in a way that’s accessible for family and friends. She posts on her own schedule, and says she’ll continue to create content until it becomes a burden.
“When you make it into a career, it adds a lot of extra pressure,” said first-year Christina Yoh. “I kind of post anything I want to post.”
Nguyen hopes to use his channel to advance science communication to the broader public and foster community.
“My channel is pretty small, but I’ve already met more people through YouTube than I have in real life since November,” Nguyen said. He hopes to attend medical school and says that YouTubing complements this pursuit while at Duke.
Some students, like sophomore Shawna Wu, say that balancing YouTube and schoolwork can be challenging at times.
“I’m still trying to figure out how to better manage my time,” she said, joking that she’s “currently hanging by a thread.”
Wu, like others, began her channel as a way of preserving memories and having fun but quickly realized she enjoyed the viewer engagement. Like other student Youtubers, one of Wu’s most popular videos pertains to student life at Duke.
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Connor Booher is a Trinity sophomore and a staff reporter for The Chronicle's 117th volume.