Genius New York High Schooler Accepted To All 8 Ivy League Schools
From the headline alone, you can tell 17-year-old Kwasi Enin pretty much has to be the most intelligent kid his age in America, right? The high school senior from Long Island’s south shore applied to all eight Ivy League institutions, and in return, metaphorically hit a walk-off grand slam in extra innings to win game seven of the World Series. Enin received acceptance letters from each Ivy League school.
Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale all granted admission to the soon-to-be William Floyd High School graduate. Harvard was the last school to accept Enin–he found out the Crimson wanted him late last week via email.
It’s almost unheard of for high school seniors to apply to all eight Ivy League schools–each university looks for vastly different characteristics in its applicants–let alone gain admission to more than two or three. What Enin pulled here is totally unprecedented, considering the most stringent of the Ivy League, Harvard, only accepted 5.9 percent of its applicants this year. Cornell had the highest acceptance rate of the eight at 14 percent.
Yet, this brilliant kid got into ALL OF THEM.
There’s pretty much no doubt in my mind that Enin, an incredibly gifted musician and an aspiring physician, will have the attention of every hot, sapiosexually charged coed on whatever fine Ivy campus he chooses.
So how much of a genius is he?
Well, Enin is ranked as no. 11 in his class of 647, which equates to somewhere in the top 2 percent. He scored 2250 out of 2400 on his SAT, putting him in the 99th percentile for his ethnicity. By the time he graduates high school, he’ll have credits from 11 AP courses, which will transfer into college credit. He also has prior experience working as a volunteer in Stony Brook University’s radiology department. To boot, Enin’s parents, both of whom work in the medical field, emigrated to the U.S. from Ghana about 20 years ago, so he also has the unique distinction (some may say “competitive advantage”) of being a first generation American.
You better believe a résumé like that garners some serious offers from the higher learning elite.
Reportedly, the Princeton Tigers have splashed the most cash at the all-star prospect so far, although Enin claims he’ll make his decision closer to May 1. In the meantime, his agent is still open to entertaining offers from Harvard and Columbia.
The bottom line scouting report on this breakout class of 2018 prospect?
Kwasi Enin is a driven high school senior, and regardless of where he goes (he got into Duke, too) it seems like he’s on the fast track to being one hell of a highly specialized–and equally wealthy–doctor.
For the record, I’d go Harvard for undergrad, then let the Penn and Yale medical schools fight over me three years later. Cardiothoracic surgery or bust!
[via NBC 11 Atlanta]
Image via William Floyd School District
I hate to be that guy that makes an issue and take away the kids accomplishments. Congrats to him and I’m sure he’ll be successful wherever he goes…but let’s be honest those scores aren’t THAT high compared to other Ivy League caliber students and he wasn’t even top of his class…The kid got in because of his race and family background. This is 2014, can we please begin judging people based on merits alone and leave the skin colors out of education.
11 years ago at 10:43 amYeah, because white people have never had an advantage when it came to anything in America…
11 years ago at 10:55 amI think affirmative action and these double standards are just as bad as actual racism. Fuck special treatment; why can’t we judge based on hard work and merits.
11 years ago at 1:22 pmAgreed on the first part, but I guarantee he worked extremely hard, and he sounds like a really bright kid. All the people saying 2250 is average and he’s unimpressive are just hating and want to blame affirmative action for his success, which is equally unfair. Race (or underprivilege, which is really what’s at play here), if you’re a competitive applicant, might tip you into one, maybe two or three of these schools. But all 8? He obviously has some talent and wrote some kickass essays.
11 years ago at 11:55 pmA very, very large amount of money says his “merits” blew yours out of the water.
11 years ago at 11:10 amWhat merits? I got a 2300 (bragging about your own SAT, it’s a TFM) and I knew I had no shot at getting into Harvard. Sounds like his best extracurricular was volunteering at a fucking local hospital.
His “merits” were on par with your average student at Cornell, if he’s lucky.
11 years ago at 11:29 amStop trying to be an edgy contrarian.
11 years ago at 3:18 pmafter i read his test scores and AP credits i expected to be absolutely blown away by the volunteer resume and extracurriculars. needless to say i was not.
11 years ago at 7:40 pmStony Brook is not “a fucking local hospital” it’s one of the best in New York State with HIGHLY competitive medical programs for undergrad, and graduate students let alone for a high school student. And if you read the attached article and maybe do a little research you will also see that he was also involved in chorus and orchestra. William Floyd High School also has one of the most competitive music programs as well and place well in NYSSMA competitions. I know, I’m an alumna; however, I wasn’t a band geek. And for everyone who is writing negative comments, the fact that this student got excepted into all 8 Ivy League schools means that he does not need your approval.
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/shirley-student-kwasi-enin-accepted-at-all-8-ivy-league-schools-1.7565720
11 years ago at 5:07 pmWe don’t take EBT.
11 years ago at 1:17 pmsad but true..too many people are afraid of not being PC or seen as racist.
11 years ago at 11:15 amOk Rush Limbaugh. Put the paint thinners down, they’re bad for your brain
11 years ago at 11:18 amWhat paint thinners? It is simply a fact that caucasian students all over the country with better class rankings, SAT scores, and extracurriculars than this kid are routinely turned down by ivies.
11 years ago at 3:48 pmGonna call bullshit here. Getting turned down by an Ivy with stats better than this guy is possible, but that’s due to the randomness of applying to college. Some admissions guy just might not like you for some reason even though you are good enough, but you will still get into an Ivy or comparable school.
His stats are well within the median for all the Ivies. Also, anecdotally, I’ve known well-off kids (white), with stats less than his who have gotten in to these schools.
11 years ago at 11:23 pmI believe your on the wrong website if your looking for a liberal perspective. Also politics aside, affirmative action is reverse racism. instead of minority’s being punished for there differences they are being rewarded. In turn some whites are being turned away due to their ethnicity. Instead of judging applicants based on ethnic background can we not just base it off scholar? No one should take away this guys achievements. However, it should raise a few eyebrows shouldn’t it Jimmy?
11 years ago at 4:06 pmApril fools? What FUBAR said was 100% correct. It’s why we elected the dumbfuck currently occupying the White House. If you tell someone you don’t support him they assume it’s because of his skin color, when in reality it has everything to do with his politics and false promises.
11 years ago at 11:21 pmAgreed. I got the same score on my SAT and yet I go to a slightly better than average state school. Wonder what the difference is….
11 years ago at 1:41 pmThe only reason you go to a “slightly better than average” state school with those kind of test scores is because you can’t afford anything else.
11 years ago at 4:12 pmOr he didn’t have the same grades, AP credits, extracurriculars, and ethnicity going for him? Which was part of what the original comment ChiPhiGST was agreeing with said…
11 years ago at 11:19 pmActually I applied to Penn and didn’t get accepted
11 years ago at 11:28 amYou’re absolutely right. A white, 3rd+ generation American would maybe get into Brown with those scores/activities. Affirmative action and diversity quotas make the admission process a joke
11 years ago at 2:42 pmWow great argument bro
11 years ago at 3:17 pmThe sad truth is that you’re right. The kid is probably smarter than 99% of people out there, but white kids who have better credentials have gotten rejected from all of those schools. This is why every hipster who cries white privilege can go fuck themselves.
He’ll probably do fine in those schools. But to try and pretend that his background and family story had nothing to do with his admission, is just dishonest. First generation, minority, ethnic sounding name? If only he was gay he’d have the affirmative action grand slam.
11 years ago at 4:26 pmI completely agree, but at places where they’ve started doing that, the Asians have taken over, and none of us want that.
11 years ago at 5:06 pmTAffirmativeActionM
11 years ago at 5:47 pmi hate to get into this kind of discussion on here, but this is 1000% true. i spent a good amount of time and effort determining what it took to get into, and then applying to, several of these schools when i was in high school. that 5.9% figure doesn’t even quite convey what an uphill battle it is considering you’re talking about literally tens of thousands of applicants. the admissions process is understandably played pretty close to the vest at these schools, but the commonly accepted speculation is that the first-round consideration that every application at a school like harvard receives amounts to about 10 minutes, if that. it’s incredibly hard to stand out in any way at all with a process like that. as already alluded to, his stats are downright pedestrian at best for these schools. even high school seniors that have won so many national science competitions that they have become gods among nerds do not, and cannot, pull this off. i’m not even particularly opposed to consideration of the diversity an applicant would add to the graduating class in the admissions process aside from the argument for redress of past wrongs, but the fact is this kid would have had an even-money shot at brown and cornell (and that’s it) were he not an underrepresented minority.
11 years ago at 7:38 pmBrown acceptance rate: 8.6%
Princeton acceptance rate: 7.3%
Cornell acceptance rate: ~14%
What point are you trying to make?
11 years ago at 12:12 amWhat the fuck are y’all talking about? I grew up in an affluent, mostly white area and every kid I knew who did that well on his/her SATs and had a good GPA got into an amazing school. Either you are making shit up, or you had a terrible GPA/extracurriculars.
I’ll admit getting into all 8 Ivies is crazy and may have had something to do with his background, but being 11th in your class and a 2250 will get you into an Ivy or comparable school.
11 years ago at 7:56 pmI see what you’re saying, but still…the vast majority of Ivy League applicants can say they were 11th in their class and got a 2250. And yet, almost nobody gets in.
11 years ago at 8:34 pmNo, the vast majority of those accepted into Ivies were at least that good. The vast majority of those who applied fall out of that range.
Here is a chart:
11 years ago at 11:06 pmhttp://collegeapps.about.com/od/sat/a/sat_side_x_side.htm
A 2250 is within the median for almost all of them. So unless you have a shit GPA, you have a good chance of getting in. I’ll agree there is definitely a degree of randomness, but like I said, you should be able to get into one or a comparable school.
It depends on your definition of amazing. For me, amazing equates to top tier–which does not constitute the best public school in your state (with exception of some business schools).
Unless you went to one of the shortlist of schools that regularly places a relatively high percentage of its students into the top ~10 schools in the country, I’m going to have to call you out on your bull shit. Getting into an Ivy or similar caliber school (Stanford, MIT, Chicago…Duke) is random and difficult, even for people with acceptable SAT scores and good extracurriculars. This kid getting into all 8 Ivy’s is not random–especially since his extracurriculars are relatively average.
11 years ago at 9:15 pmNaming your account Im_THAT_guy, then saying you hate to be that guy. TFM.
11 years ago at 11:15 amas a former high school class president who scored 35/36 on the ACT, graduated in the top 2% and didn’t get into any of those schools probably because of my last name… oh fucking well. I went to my state school, partied hard and have a big 4 gig lined up for graduation w/o any help from those ivy league liberals. Success is better when the want you to fail.
11 years ago at 1:48 am…also saved my doctor parents a bit of money. #TotalAsianSonMove
11 years ago at 1:49 amIt seems like a lot of you don’t know how the college admission process works. You’re all talking about him “only” being ranked 11th in his class and only getting a 2250 on the SATs but those stats aren’t meant to be compared with your score or my scores. And before people start jumping down my throat understand this, when it comes to scores and rankings there is no national standard. Kids from California aren’t compared with kids from Alabama, that kind of comparison is pointless because its clear that school systems across the US aren’t equal in terms of resources, staff, and money. What actually happens is each kid is compared within their own areas and similar school districts. It’s about doing your best with what you have as a student at that particular school. If anything what makes it even harder for smart privileged white kids is the fact they go to school with other equally smart privileged white kids. If you go to a school where everyone gets a 2400, that score holds less weight. And as far as being ranked 11th. Rank doesn’t take into account the difficulty of your course load. The kids ranked 1-10 may have had 4.0 GPAs but they may not have had any honors or AP classes on their transcripts. A B in an honors/AP course holds more weight to admissions than a A in a regular college prep class. Although his race and background probably had something to do with it, stop acting like SAT scores and class rank are some great equalizer cause they’re not.
11 years ago at 2:33 amApril fools?
11 years ago at 10:49 amMy money is on him going to ‘Brown’
11 years ago at 10:51 amZing.
11 years ago at 11:51 amHaven’t audibly laughed at a TFM comment in a while.
11 years ago at 2:58 pmWow, a guy works his ass off and accomplishes something amazing, and people automatically assume “affirmative action”. I hope if you are willing to insult someone, you are willing to say it to their face rather than behind your keyboard. Grow up
11 years ago at 10:56 amWhy not just call it like it is? Guarandamntee you that you’d have better odds of winning the lottery three times in a row than being accepted to every Ivy League school with those scores and the last name of Smith.
11 years ago at 11:12 am“He scored 2250 out of 2400 on his SAT, putting him in the 99th percentile for his ethnicity.” I don’t give a half a fuck about how he scored within his ethnicity, and neither should anyone. What is his percentile when considering everyone who took the SAT? That would be a more compelling statistic. The kid is obviously highly intelligent and has worked hard and comes from a great background, but slavery ended a long time ago can we stop throwing bones to the black people? Fuck.
11 years ago at 10:59 amHave a snickers, you get a little cranky when you’re hungry
11 years ago at 11:12 amI bet you thought that was a really clever response.
11 years ago at 1:24 pmThis comment is on par with your other postings on this site
11 years ago at 1:59 pmIt’s actually 99th percentile for all test takers as well. I scored 50 points lower and was still 99% for all test takers in the nation. So there’s that.
11 years ago at 11:36 pmThis would be impressive, if his name was John Smith and checked “choose not to identify”, when asked his ethnic background.
11 years ago at 11:01 amDamn… I was happy to get into a state school. This fucking kid
11 years ago at 11:04 amIf he was a she, MIT would be on that list, too. But I guess nobody is perfect
11 years ago at 11:10 amIt said he wanted to study medicine. MIT is not a good pre-med school, regardless of its other merits. Nice game against Kentucky by the way.
11 years ago at 11:38 amMIT isn’t a good pre-med school?
Not sure where you got that from. Their chemistry and biology departments are always ranked in the top 5, if not first in the nation. The only thing I could think of that would make it a bad pre-med school is how hard it is to make good grades there.
11 years ago at 3:59 pm2250 and 11 in class are good but not even close to amazing. He’s black and reverse racism is getting way to big for sausage’s liking.
11 years ago at 11:25 amIt seems like a lot of you don’t know how the college admission process works. You’re all talking about him “only” being ranked 11th in his class and only getting a 2250 on the SATs but those stats aren’t meant to be compared with your score or my scores. And before people start jumping down my throat understand this, when it comes to scores and rankings there is no national standard. Kids from California aren’t compared with kids from Alabama, that kind of comparison is pointless because its clear that school systems across the US aren’t equal in terms of resources, staff, and money. What actually happens is each kid is compared within their own areas and similar school districts. It’s about doing your best with what you have as a student at that particular school. If anything what makes it even harder for smart privileged white kids is the fact they go to school with other equally smart privileged white kids. If you go to a school where everyone gets a 2400, that score holds less weight. And as far as being ranked 11th. Rank doesn’t take into account the difficulty of your course load. The kids ranked 1-10 may have had 4.0 GPAs but they may not have had any honors or AP classes on their transcripts. A B in an honors/AP course holds more weight to admissions than a A in a regular college prep class. Although his race and background probably had something to do with it, stop acting like SAT scores and class rank are some great equalizer cause they’re not.
11 years ago at 2:20 am2250 and 11th in your class is obviously good, but it’s nowhere near good enough to get into the majority of the Ivies, let alone ALL of them. A white kid with those scores would go to Brown or Cornell at best. What bullshit.
11 years ago at 11:28 am