Nigerian immigrant accepted by all 8 Ivy League schools

[Independent voter]

So this high school kid, an immigrant from Nigeria got accepted to all the Ivy League universities. This is a pretty big accomplishment. In comparison I was accepted to zero Ivy League schools.

Was reading a thing on the internet about the three things that make successful immigrants. Cubans, most Asians and yes Nigerians fall into this group, let's see it was 1. insecurity, 2. a superiority complex (i'm better than these idiots), and impulse control. Iranians, Jews and Lebanese were also included.

Helps if you have something to prove, or you at least want to impress the ladies, success that is.



college/immigrant-accepted-all-ivy-league-schools-harold-ekeh/index.html

High school senior Harold Ekeh didn't just get into one Ivy League university. He was accepted into all eight.

Now comes the really hard part: Deciding where to go. He actually got into all 13 schools he applied to, including MIT and Johns Hopkins.


"I am leaning toward Yale," he told CNNMoney. "I competed at Yale for Model UN, and I like the passion people at Yale had."

Some of the Yale students he met became his friends and mentors, offering advice on the college application process. Now Ekeh is trying to do the same thing.

Ekeh, 17, founded a college mentoring program at his school, Elmont Memorial High School on Long Island in the New York city suburbs. His goal is to get more students into top universities.

Related: Harvard rejects about 95% of applicants

American dream: Ekeh was born in Nigeria and came to the United States when he was eight. He wrote his main college essay about the struggle to adjust, including being clueless in U.S. history classes at school. He said he would ask his parents repeatedly why they moved.

"We had a fairly comfortable life in Nigeria, but they told me we moved to America for the opportunities like the educational opportunities," he recalled.

The salutatorian is quick to credit his parents, school and community for his success.

"I am very humbled by this," Ekeh said. "It's not just for me, but for my school and community. We can accomplish great things here."

Related: 17-year old rejects Duke's rejection letter

A passion for science: He wants to major in neurobiology or chemistry in college and later become doctor and, ultimately, a neurosurgeon. He was named a 2015 Intel Science Talent Search semifinalist earlier this year for his research on how the acid DHA can slow Alzheimer's.

For Ekeh, the cause is personal. His grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's when he was 11. One of his proudest moments was running home to tell his mother and aunts about the breakthroughs he was finding with DHA.

"When other kids would say, 'I want to be a superhero or police officer,' I would say, 'I want to know what is on the inside of us,'" he said.

Related: Stanford offers free tuition for families with less than $125,000

The key to success: Outside of the lab, Ekeh directs a youth choir at his church, plays the drums, is part of Key Club and Model UN and was elected to the Homecoming court. He speaks Igbo and Spanish and has a 100.5% GPA. He's proud of acing the AP History Exam despite his early struggles with the subject.

Elmont High School is 99% minority. Ekeh is the second student in recent years to win a prestigious Intel Science award.

Principal John Capozzi calls Ekeh "one of the most humble young men I've ever had the opportunity to meet." The lab where Ekeh did his award-winning research is modest and only staffed part-time by a passionate chemistry teacher, but the community makes the most of what it has.

Ekeh will spend the coming weeks visiting all the schools before making his final decision.

His advice to other high school students is simple: "Like my parents always told us, the secret to success is unbridled resolve."

[Deleted]

If he is smart as he appears I do not know why this is even thread worthy, good on him but hardly worthy of a discussion.

[Noomz]

Unbridled resolve huh? I guess what hte starving kids need is more willpower.
Nah, I think there's a liiiiiittle bit more to it...

[Krille]

....

This is the kind of shit that makes my motivation venture to the deepest of caverns.

[Rixis]

In comparison I was accepted to zero Ivy League schools.

What exactly is this a comparison of?

[Nilinor]

yea says he was a salutatorian, which is the one below valedictorian. He was very well in school and has been here since he was 8 years old, may be an immigrant but been here almost his entire life.

Very well to do person who will make a lot out of his life I think.

[Independent voter]

I've always wondered why some immigrant groups do extremely well and some do poorly. Insecurity, a sense of superiority and impulse control is what one article said. Why do Cubans do better than Mexicans?

[Krille]

I've always wondered why some immigrant groups do extremely well and some do poorly. Insecurity, a sense of superiority and impulse control is what one article said. Why do Cubans do better than Mexicans?

Different class. This kid is most likely upper middle class or better. Not everyone can just move from Nigeria to USA to study.

[Netherspark]

I'm sorry, but what is the actual purpose of this thread? It just looks like a local news report or something...

[Waaldo]

What exactly is this a comparison of?

Intelligence. Or penis size. I always get those 2 confused.

[Deleted]

Intelligence. Or penis size. I always get those 2 confused.

I am fucked either way.

[TrumpIsPresident]

I wonder if he re-applied to all those schools without mention of his ethnicity, origin, or story ..would he still go 8 for 8.

[Deleted]

I wonder if he re-applied to all those schools without mention of his ethnicity, origin, or story ..would he still go 8 for 8.

He seems extremely smart, well dressed and well spoken, he will do well no matter what.

[Rixis]

He seems extremely smart, well dressed and well spoken, he will do well no matter what.

But he's black and/or foreign. THIS IS AN OUTRAGE !!!!

/s

[Waaldo]

I am fucked either way.

Ha. You and me both.

/selfconcioushighfive

I wonder if he re-applied to all those schools without mention of his ethnicity, origin, or story ..would he still go 8 for 8.

There definitely wouldn't have been a news article about it.

[mykro9]

Obviously all the money his family got from those email scams has served him well.

[MerinPally]

The best way to consider these sorts of things normal is to not throw a disproportionate celebration compared to everyone else.

When someone I went to school with got in, there was a small article about "the kids going off to Harvard/Yale/MIT from the UK this year are:" and then an explanation of what's entailed, maybe a few quotes, granted it was in the BBC. It didn't require a bloody profile in CNN.

[chrisberb]

The best way to consider these sorts of things normal is to not throw a disproportionate celebration compared to everyone else.

When someone I went to school with got in, there was a small article about "the kids going off to Harvard/Yale/MIT from the UK this year are:" and then an explanation of what's entailed, maybe a few quotes, granted it was in the BBC. It didn't require a bloody profile in CNN.

It's a little different to get accepted into ALL of the top schools.

[Independent voter]

Haters going to hate.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...rsity/7119531/

The feat is extremely rare, say college counselors — few students even apply to all eight, because each seeks different qualities in their freshman class. Almost none are invited to attend them all. The Ivy League colleges are among the nation's most elite.

"My heart skipped a beat when he told me he was applying to all eight," says Nancy Winkler, a guidance counselor at William Floyd High School, where Enin attends class. In 29 years as a counselor, she says, she's never seen anything like this. "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."

For most of the eight schools, acceptance comes rarely, even among the USA's top students. At the top end, Cornell University admitted only 14% of applicants. Harvard accepted just 5.9%.

But Enin has "a lot of things in his favor," says college admissions expert Katherine Cohen, CEO and founder of IvyWise, a New York-based consulting firm.

[Rhine101]

My buddy got his citizenship while in Iraq. He said his oath in between missions. He actually just sent a pic of his parents backyard from back home. It's a picture of some wild grasses, small trees and a giraffe.

What this kid did is impressive, but I am still more impressed by my friend. I would be more impressed if this person was 12, raised in a poor household and accepted into all the Ivy colleges.