<p>She is a self-described "jock who loves literature," an aspiring astrophysicist who sees poetry in mathematical equations, a young woman who adds activities to an already crowded schedule because it helps her manage her time more efficiently.</p>
<p>"You have to teach yourself self-discipline," says Ayse Gursoy, this year's Star-Ledger Scholar from Middlesex County, who was captain of the high school girls' soccer squad and two track teams.</p>
<p>Ayse, 18, is a top student at Highland Park High School where she received scores of A or A plus on every one of her courses, almost all at the honors or Advanced Placement (AP) level.</p>
<p>She earned a total score of 2310 on the three sections of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), including two perfect scores of 800 on the verbal and math subsections. She also achieved scores of 800 on the SAT II subject matter tests in physics and math 2, as well as top scores of 5 on AP tests in U.S. history, calculus, and physics.</p>
<p>"She is just such a creative thinker," says her math teacher, Jonathan Flint. "Ayse comes up with solutions I may not initially understand, but they work and they are unique." </p>
<p>She is the daughter of two university professors, both immigrants from Turkey. Her mother, Melike Baykal-Gursoy, teaches industrial relations at Rutgers, while her father, Kemal, teaches statistics at Kean. Ayse hopes to become a professor herself one day. She will enroll in Princeton in the fall. The young scholar calls the universe "a truly amazing place." </p>
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<p>Congratulations, Ayse, and welcome to Princeton!</p>