'I made it!': Student with Down syndrome celebrates getting into college in heartwarming video

Keith Griffith will attend the University of South Alabama in Autumn

A video showing a 19-year-old boy with Down syndrome getting accepted into college has gone viral.

Keith Griffith can be seen seen timidly holding his acceptance letter until his mother Heather Griffith, who filmed the video, tells him: "Just rip it open, baby.”

“I love you,” he replies, smiling before opening the envelope to discover his fate.

Then in a near whisper, the teenager from Mobile, Alabama, says: “I got in." Taking a second glance to be certain he adds: “I made it.”

He will now enrol on the Passage USA certificate program at the University of South Alabama.

Passage, which stands for Preparing All Students Socially and Academically for Gainful Employment, is a program designed for students aged 19 to 25 who have been diagnosed with an intellectual disability. An IQ of 70 and below can indicate this type of disability.

Mr Griffith's achievement will follow on from a successful high school career which saw him crowned prom king, captain the bowling team and play football for the little league team, according to Fox News.

After reading the letter, Mr Griffith jumps up and hugs his mother, who said in a Facebook post that her son may have cried a little with joy at the news.

The video has since been seen by thousands of people.

Ms Griffith posted the video on Facebook privately where it was viewed by more than 89,000 people.

After several news outlets ran it on their websites, it has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in total since.

Ms Griffith, who said that she had initially posted the video for friends and family to experience the moment with them, later commented on posts that she is “very happy that we have been able to touch so many people!”