Student With Down Syndrome Who Went Viral to Start College

— -- A young woman with Down syndrome whose reaction to learning she was going to college went viral in April is now ready to begin classes.

Rachel Grace starts at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania on Monday. The student from Lansdale, Pennsylvania, looked into attending four schools and ultimately decided to attend ESU.

Although she's an incoming freshman and has never lived on her own before, Grace said she's not nervous.

"My parents are but I'm not," Graced told ABC affiliate WNEP-TV.

And it's true. Her mother Deb Grace admitted, "It's exciting and it's nerve-wracking and we're excited for her, but really scared for us."

"You might have to do a follow-up story to see how I am in a couple days," Grace's father, Tom, added. "Rachel's doing a heck of a lot better than I am."

Grace will take part in ESU's Career Independent Learning and Living Studies program. The three-year program is tailored to students with intellectual disabilities.