(Photo by Office of Undergraduate Admissions)

Smiling students run down the stairs, belting music and dancing to a catchy beat. Sound familiar? If you guessed the ending scene of “High School Musical” in this case, you are mistaken. The new Yale University promotional video puts a creative musical twist on the standard “Here’s why you should come to ______” college admissions video.

The idea for a musical-style admissions video came last year from Andrew Johnson, a 2006 graduate of Yale. Before the creation of “That’s Why I Chose Yale,” the university had been showing incoming students a video in which Yale students glided around campus on roller skates while donning high-waisted jean shorts. Johnson called the fashion sense of the students featured “distractingly different.” It was obvious that the movie was outdated, and it did not truly represent the current student body.

“That’s Why I Chose Yale,” which currently has more than 300,000 views on YouTube, features more than 200 current and former students and staff members. Kobi Libii, who plays the admissions officer, is a 2007 graduate of Yale and a New York City-based actor. Libii strolls through campus introducing viewers to other singing students, including Sam Tsui, a Yale junior, who is already known for his own acapella YouTube videos that have received millions of views.

The nearly 17-minute video was shot over a 10-day period, and was created in less than one-tenth of the cost of a professionally-produced video, Dean of Admissions Jeff Brenzel said in a Yale Daily News article. “It’s going to get noticed because there’s nothing like it,” Brenzel said.

Like any other effort to try something new, the video has received mixed reviews. While most of the audience has embraced the musical take on the all-too-common, mundane college recruitment video, some have called the video too cheesy and campy for a prestigious Ivy League school. Natalie Loux, 16, and a junior who will soon be faced with the college application process, commented on the video. “I thought the video was weird at first, but then I liked it because it was funny how it was a musical. It would make whoever wanted to go there (to Yale) more interested,” she said.

Johnson explained to the Yale Daily News that there are many ways to present the university to incoming students, and this is an effort to do it in a new and refreshing format. In an age of popular television shows like “Glee” and “Taking the Stage,” Yale may be striking the perfect chord with prospective students. Whether the video is a hit or not, the unique creation is sure to leave an impression on its viewers.

What do you think about the video? Do you think it will be a success among incoming students?