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L.I. Student Accepted To All 8 Ivy League Schools: 'This Can't Be Happening'
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 1, 2014
Modified Apr 1, 2014
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 1, 2014
Modified Apr 1, 2014
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A 17-year-old high school senior is the pride of Shirley, New York: Kwasi Enin was accepted to all eight Ivy League schools. The William Floyd High School student told Newsday he thought "maybe two or three of them" would accept him, "I've never heard of someone getting all eight."
His guidance counselor Nancy Winkler spoke to USA Today, "My heart skipped a beat when he told me he was applying to all eight. It's a big deal when we have students apply to one or two Ivies. To get into one or two is huge. It was extraordinary."
According to Newsday, "For Kwasi, applying to a competitive college wasn't exactly a gamble. He has an SAT score of 2,250 out of 2,400, which places him in the 99th percentile for all students taking the exam. He has taken and scored high on many Advanced Placement exams. He is an athlete, a shot putter, in fact, and his baritone voice can belt out a tune when he's not playing viola for the school orchestra."
Kwasi, who hopes to study medicine, was also accepted to three NY State schools—Stony Brook, Geneseo and Binghamton—plus Duke. He will make his decision when he hears about financial aid packages (so far, Princeton's is most generous, but Columbia, Harvard and Cornell haven't give him info yet). A college admissions expert, Katherine Cohen, offered tips on what he should do next:
She advises that Enin call or write each of the eight and let them know that he's got a slot in each other's freshman class. They'll compete to get him to show up in the fall.
Once he decides, she says, he should write letters to the seven runners-up saying he's "honored to have been admitted." After all, he's got to keep his options open for graduate school.
His father, who immigrated from Ghana, said, "We are very proud of him. He's an amazing kid. He's very humble. He's been trained to be a high achiever right from when he was a kid. We have been encouraging him to be an all-around student. So far, he has proved himself."
Tagged
college
college admissions
ivy league
Kwasi Enin
long island
Shirley
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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