http://nextshark.com/cassandra-hsiao-college-essay-ivy-league/
I’ve read about four so far. This one from Malaysia/California, the girl from Rwanda, the one from New Jersey and a boy from, was it, North Dakota?
I don’t know what makes people apply to all of them but it sure does seem to make the news every year when they get into them all.
There’s a boy from a Nigerian immigrant family who got into all 8 Ivies from a local Catholic school.
I assume that the possibility of free publicity may motivate some of the applicants and/or some of the applications.
I can’t understand why someone would apply to all of them. They are so different.
That was last year unless there is another this year @techmom99 ?
Good for them! I don’t begrudge. They obviously worked very hard and are talented.
There’s a girl in Oklahoma who was also accepted to all eight: http://m.newson6.com/story.aspx?story=35080634&catId=112042
Actually now that I look at the closed Rwanda thread, she didn’t get into all of them. So with the girl from Oklahoma that’s four I know of this year.
…and they are pretty different from each other in terms of their interests, ethnicity, geography, etc.
What I don’t understand is how these stories get into the press.
I was just thinking about my father, who as the val of a large Portland, OR HS full of immigrant’s children like him applied to HYP and got into all three with full scholarships. This was in the early 40s. I’m quite sure that if he had applied to the rest of them, he would have gotten into them, also.
I cannot imagine him inviting press coverage. Perhaps the HS does so, but if I were the kid’s parent I would say NO.
If the students are from low income families, their lists are probably formed based on finances. The publicity isn’t a bad PR move. It certainly won’t hurr their careers any.
My daughter attends Orange County School of the Arts, where Cassandra was admitted to all Ivy League schools and Stanford and others. My oldest D also graduated from this school. It’s a hybrid public school and private school. You have to audition to get admitted. They have conservatories - dance, theatre, music, film, creative writing, string instruments, etc. From a marketing and business stand point , smart of the school to go to the media and announce this news. Brings more donation and applications to the school. How many other schools in the west coast can say they had 6 early decision admits to Stanford and more in RD? Not bad
I am curious though why they apply to all those schools AFTER they get EA to their favorite. If that one is Harvard or Yale the financial aid story just doesn’t make sense since those schools offer the best fin aid of all. And if the families have a higher EFC and need merit then obviously those are not the school to apply to. I assume it is some kind of pride or something like that.
There may be many others who were accepted to all of the Ivies, but kept it quiet.
What I don’t understand is, if you were accepted early to one elite school (presumably your favorite), why bother with all of the other apps?
Edit: Ha, crossed posts with @am9799
Agree. And I read somewhere that the one from nj is trying to figure out how to pay for them?
Some may still prefer to compare offers, or may have complicating FA situations that make it more difficult to predict which school will give the lowest or affordable net price. For example, there was a student from California a few years ago who was admitted to HYPSM and 4 UCs (H early action), eventually choosing H. Since his father had abandoned the family (which became very low income), he presumably had uncertainty about NCP waivers for HYPSM FA. So it presumably would have been unwise for him to cancel other applications until seeing all schools’ decisions on financial aid (and scholarships at the UCs) and a large outside scholarship that he eventually ended up getting.
I am more impressed by a kid who gets into his ED and REA and does other things with free time. I had a friend long time ago who got in early – when they allowed this – to Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton and CalTech – and who didn’t even tell to his friends until they pried that info out of him. I dare say he would have gotten into all 30 top colleges early.
Why limit it to just 8 Ivies when there are way more schools that are better or just as good, such as MIT, Stanford, Williams, Rice, Pomona, Duke etc.
I will now be impressed or horrified if someone gets into all top 20 National Colleges and top 5 Liberal Colleges. Yawn. Lol
^ these kids mostly got into Stanford too, and one MIT 
I meant why limit it to just Ivies when there are so many other better or good schools around, such as Duke, Northwestern, Rice etc? Next time, I want a kid who go into top 30 schools listed on US Newsweek. lol
For the last 4 years there have been students from Long Island, all of Nigerian descent, who have been accepted by all 8 Ivies. I know a girl who attends the public HS where two of them went. Lots of African students attend this school and there is a very competitive environment from what I’ve heard! It’s nice because the school is not in a high income area, either. It’s nice to see so many kids from immigrant families achieve something so difficult.
I actually went to camp with the North Dakota one, who not only get accepted to, but also got LIKELY LETTERS from Harvard and MIT (EA Stanford acceptance too)!
@websensation As the poster above says the kids who ave been accepted into all 8 ivies almost always have also applied (and got accepted) to Stanford as well and often MIT as well.
I am sure most of them have applied to other great schools you mention like Duke, Rice, NW, Hopkins etc, but when the admissions time comes and the media reports on these extraordinary cases they tend to focus on the Ivy League, Stanford, MIT admissions cause they make better headlines.