An immigrant family living in New York is celebrating after their 17-year-old son was accepted into all eight Ivy League schools, in addition to five other colleges.
Harold Ekeh has not decided which school he will attend, but has his choice of the most prestigious universities in the nation.
Ekeh was born in Nigeria, but moved to the US with his family when he was eight years old. They settled in Long Island, and the teen attends Elmont High School.
He discussed his experience as an immigrant in his admissions essay.
"Like a tree, uprooted and replanted, I could have withered in a new country surrounded by people and languages I did not understand," Ekeh wrote.
"Yet, I witnessed my parents persevere despite the potential to succumb. I faced my challenges with newfound zeal; I risked humiliation, spending my recesses talking to unfamiliar faces, ignoring their sarcastic remarks."
The high school senior has a 100.51 grade-point average, and aspires to be a neurosurgeon. The Ivy League - Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell - was clearly impressed.
Ekeh also gained admission to Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Stony Brook University, and Vanderbilt University.
"We are so proud of him," his mother, Roseline, beamed. "Hard work, dedication, prayer brought him to where he is today."
Ekeh said he is leaning toward Yale, although he has until May 1 to decide. He is expected to make his announcement at a press conference later this month.
Last year, a Long Island student from William Floyd High School was accepted into all of the Ivies. Kwasi Enin, the son of Ghanaian immigrants, chose Yale.
