Trending

High school senior earns full scholarships to five Ivy League schools

An overachieving Virginia high school senior earned full scholarships to five Ivy League colleges including Harvard, Yale and Princeton, after applying to the prestigious universities on a whim.

>> Read more trending news

Aisha Khan was also accepted to Ivy League schools Dartmouth and the University of Pennsylvania, while Columbia put her on a wait list, Inside Nova reported. Another prestigious university, Stanford, also accepted her.

“Honestly, the plan from the beginning was the University of Virginia, and I just applied (to the Ivy League schools) for fun,” Khan said. “I was thinking I would maybe luck out with one school.”

>> Ohio student graduates high school with perfect attendance since kindergarten

Khan is a high achiever. She worked on multiple local political campaigns, is a member of student council and has won national awards for her creative writing. She volunteered at a mosque where she lives, worked as a tutor and is a Girl Scout.

She thinks it was her essays that helped get her accepted.

>> Michigan woman, 70, achieves dream of graduating high school

“I truly did write from the heart, and I put a lot of time and thought into my essays,” Khan said. “I tried to present myself as I am. I didn’t try to be anything I’m not.”

With all the choices she decided to attend Harvard in the fall.

>> Marine surprises sister at college graduation

“Being a woman of color, especially as a daughter of an immigrant, and having the opportunity to attend one of these institutions — which have historically been very exclusive — is, to me, a reflection of the progress we’ve made, but at the same time a reminder of the hurdles ahead,” Khan said. “I hope my education allows me to better understand socioeconomic disparities so that more students have access to higher education.”

Aisha Khan was offered admission at Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford – all on full scholarships:

Posted by InsideNoVA.com on Monday, May 24, 2021