For the Second Year in a Row, One Long Island Student Accepted Into All Ivy League Schools

For the second year in a row a student from Long Island has been accepted into all eight Ivy League schools.

Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna wasn’t too eager to learn about her acceptances last Thursday; she was too busy at a badminton game. However, her guidance counselor couldn’t help but look at the results and told Uwamanzu-Nna to open all the letters at once.

“One by one, I opened all the schools,” Uwamanzu-Nna told Business Insider. “I saw I was getting accepted into each one, and when I came to the last one, I started crying. I literally was just crying and running around.”

Uwamanzu-Nna, the valedictorian of Elmont High School, has until May 1 to decide which Ivy she wants to attend. She also was accepted into Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

“My recent accomplishments reflect the hardworking ideals of the town of Elmont, my supportive parents and my dedicated teachers. I am elated but most importantly I am thankful,” said the 17-year-old shared with Newsday.

This isn’t the first a student from Elmont High School to be accepted into all eight schools. Last year, Harold Ekeh was accepted into 13 schools, including all the Ivies. Ekeh ultimately chose to attend Yale.

“The fact that this is happening twice in a year speaks volumes to the power of the Elmont community support system,” she shared.

Uwamanzu-Nna didn’t take the easy road to get into all the Ivies. She has a GPA of 101.63, took 13 Advanced Placement courses, and interned at the NYU’s engineering school and Columbia University’s research lab during her summer breaks.

“The head researcher at Columbia was very impressed by my tenacity, by my persistence, and by the fact that I was 16 and doing cement and concrete research,” she explained.

Uwamanzu-Nna, the daughter of two Nigerian immigrants, credits her “spirit of persistence” for getting her this far.

“As a high schooler, what really explains my recent accomplishment is finding something I am passionate about and not being afraid of stepping outside of my comfort zone.”