HS Senior Is 2nd Student From Her School To Get 8 Ivy League College Acceptance

High school senior Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna graduates as Elmont Memorial's valedictorian this year, but she will also leave the school with another distinction as eight Ivy League colleges have accepted her application. She's the second one to do so from Elmont.

Augusta, whose parents are Nigerian immigrants, has until May 1 to decide which university she will attend in the fall. With a GPA of 101.64, the teenager also submitted applications to four other prestigious schools in addition to the Ivy League schools, and these institutions have accepted her, too. In total, she has to pick from Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale University, as well as Johns Hopkins University, NYU, MIT and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Augusta said she's inclined to concentrate on a science major to compound her interest for environmental studies and biochemistry. The valedictorian was a 2016 Intel Science Talent Search finalist, per Elmont Memorial press release. Her research involved preventing oil rigs from contaminating water using cement compositions. She was the only high school student from a team of adult researchers, per Columbia University.

Augusta gives credit to her parents and teachers for her achievements. "I've struggled with numerous classes in the past," the teenager said, per Daily Mail. "But I guess what allowed me to be successful, ultimately, in those classes, at the end, is my persistence and my tenacity."

She also relates how her cousins in Nigeria don't get the same opportunities as she has received in the United States. The American-born student visits her parents' homeland regularly. "Whatever I do, I want to make sure that it has an impact on Nigeria," she said, per ABC 7.

Last year, Elmont Memorial High School salutatorian Harold Ekeh also got accepted at the Ivy League schools and eventually decided to attend Yale University. "Having two students get accepted into all eight Ivy League institutions in back-to-back years is humbling but also speaks to the incredible commitment to children by the families and staff within the EMHS Community," said school principal Kevin Dougherty via CNN.