Chronically Online: ‘Day in the Life’ influencers democratize the Stanford experience

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

Dawn crests over Hoover Tower at 7:30 a.m. — and Mia Lee ’28 is already at the gym in “Study Vlog | Midterms Season at Stanford.” Post-workout, Lee bounces from lecture to lecture, staying energized on Starbucks and dining hall grub, gathering footage. She cycles through Main Quad, MemChu glowing behind her and studies for her CS exam for nine hours at the Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center. Around 3:30 a.m., she rolls into bed. But there isn’t much reprieve: 3.5 hours later, the grind starts again. 

After all, it’s Stanford University.

If you’re a resident of the Farm, perhaps Lee’s content echoes your daily routine. But what’s so special about problem sets, Stern dining and “Nearrillaga?” 

According to Lee’s 6.8 million TikTok likes — everything. As a selective institution, Stanford carries a certain mystique, one readily leveraged by resident content creators. Social media hosts too many Stanford-related videos to count: “Study with me at Stanford University,” “What I ate for lunch today at Stanford,” “Get ready with us for a Stanford frat party.” The list goes on.

There’s power in a name — particularly one evoking privilege, innovation and a $37.6 billion endowment.

It’s a “Day in the Life at Stanford University”… and student influencers are inviting you along.

Living the dream

With over 2.8 million followers and more than 1.6 billion views across platforms, Lee is a seasoned lifestyle, beauty and travel creator. She has a business email and a Linktree; an Amazon Storefront; a college essay guide (available for $19.99). Her TikTok account @chinesewithmia, which showcases Chinese culture and language, has 520,000 followers.

But fast on the rise is @mia_yilin, a TikTok page documenting Lee’s life at Stanford. Characterized by serene footage and snippets of Stanford culture, Lee’s content is equal parts wry and inspirational (“the prettier you feel, the harder you study,” one caption reads). 

She doesn’t expect viewers to gain anything specific from her account. “At the end of the day, if people find my content somewhat entertaining, intriguing or motivational, then I’m happy!” 

So what do fans glean? According to Lee, college is “not always smooth-sailing.” Yet, her 21-hour days and constant productivity make her an aspirational figure for viewers. 

Comments pepper Lee with dozens of Stanford-related questions: “What major?” “What gadgets do you use for studying?” “Have you seen Eileen Gu there?” They shower her with endless praise and positivity: “Go go go!” “You are so disciplined, girl.”  

Beneath it all, there runs an undercurrent of yearning. 

“Once a dream, never the reality,” one viewer writes. 

Creating a time capsule

Scroll through Janelle Olisea ’25’s YouTube channel to watch her transform from a high schooler shrieking at college acceptances to a current Stanford senior. Her channel covers New Student Orientation. And Frosh and Sophomore Formal. And her dream internship at CNN.

“It’s essentially my time capsule,” said Olisea, who serves as The Daily’s Digital Storytelling Director. “I can see every single stage of my Stanford career, literally from the very, very beginning of when I first got in.” 

Video production is Olisea’s greatest love. She uses a microphone, a lighting stand and multiple tripods. She reserves time in her schedule for editing. 

When it comes to content creation, she puts in the work — as reflected by her deft use of montages, splitscreens and voiceovers. 

Along with authenticity, production value is key to Olisea’s videos. 

“If I ever catch myself [thinking], ‘Oh, maybe I’ll do this for a specific vlog or a specific shot,’ I’ll be like, ‘Well, no.’ That’s just not how I work,” she said. 

Olisea will film anything, even a nap. But honesty doesn’t make her less “hyper-aware.” She’s constantly wondering whether her footage quantity is sufficient, or how a narrative will hold up in post-production. On the other hand, being content-minded impedes being fully present at events. Plus, filming around strangers is just awkward, according to Olisea.

Yet, owning a channel has its rewards. Fans approach Olisea in public (“‘I always watch videos of you in CoHo, and now I’m meeting you in CoHo,’” one student told her); recognize Olisea’s parents from her move-in vlogs (“They’re like, ‘Oh my God, we’re famous!’”); tell her she’s the reason they applied to Stanford. 

“To know that at some point in someone’s life, I was [a source of comfort and relief]  — it warms my heart and it honestly keeps me going,” she said. 

With graduation approaching, Olisea plans to vlog her video journalism career. Not many content creators document their post-Stanford life. Perhaps depicting what comes after will reassure her viewership. 

After all, as Olisea told The Daily, “One day, you’re not going to have the University anymore.” 

Removing the cardinal-colored glasses

When Lour Drick Valsote ’24 M.S. ’26 was in high school, he saw Stanford students as “super crazy genius, mad scientist” types. 

“Student YouTubers tend to show a more polished version of what college looks like,” Valsote said. “You know, where students wake up at five in the morning, and go for a two-hour jog, before going to class for seven hours.” 

He’d wonder, is this a lifestyle I can handle? 

Valsote’s early vlogs emulate the quintessentially productive Stanford student. But like Olisea, he now prioritizes genuineness — and willingly discusses, say, bombing a CS106B exam.

“A lot of the information you’ll find online will paint Stanford as a really wonderful place,” Valsote said. The vlogs gushing over campus’s resort-like architecture, the headshots of Rhodes Scholars on @stanford’s Instagram… all of it incentivizes viewers to attend. 

And for many, that’s all they see of the Farm. Valsote, who was admitted during COVID-19, committed without even stepping foot on campus.

But over his years at Stanford, he’s learned a lot about the institution, “both the good and the bad.” Along with videos like “Everything I LOVE About Stanford” (Festifall, beautiful architecture, the quarter system), Valsote has also shared “Everything I HATE About Stanford” (grind culture, thievery, the quarter system).

With these videos, “I’m not necessarily trying to dissuade people from coming to Stanford,” Valsote said. Rather, he provides a realistic look at Stanford life. Class tier lists may not be glamorous, but they’re a practical resource.

On CHEM 33, a designated D-tier course, Valoste admits: “I had absolutely no idea what was going on in that class.”

All roads lead to Stanford

Traditionally gate-kept by a 3% acceptance rate, today, the Stanford experience has been democratized by social media. Netizens aren’t only interested in watching Stanford students eat, sleep and breathe. They want to join that California paradise.

On Lee’s page, a high-school student from India asks the million-dollar question: “How to get an admission there?”

Her “Extracurriculars that got me into Stanford” attempts to crack the code. But even influencers don’t have all the answers. 

Valsote recalled his past self envisioning “what a Stanford student looks like, or what I thought a Stanford student should look like.”

But any mental construct of that elusive figure is likely a myth. In multiple videos, Valsote interviews fellow students about their road to Stanford: an Ecuadorian student who grappled with identity through music; a frosh whose mother’s health condition drew her to medicine. 

At the Farm, each student’s life carries unique richness. That includes student influencers, for whom storyteller, Olisea’s preferred term, may be a better title. 

After all, content creators aren’t soulless projections of the Stanford brand. Ultimately, they’re young people finding their way — ones willing to share their narrative online.

“I’ve always enjoyed documenting parts of my life to reflect back on in the future,” wrote Lee. “Social media enables me to do that.”

Valsote doesn’t often rewatch his videos, but “it is nice to see a snapshot into the kind of person I was four or five years ago,” he said. 

“If I do rewatch it, I know I’ll tear up,” Olisea said of her frosh year move-in vlog. “That was just the beginning of the most incredible journey of my life.” 

And does Olisea, who is currently studying abroad in Florence, also plan on vlogging her time abroad as part of that journey?

“Girl,” she asks, “why do you think my camera’s right here?”

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