Minnesota Somali Teen Accepted to All Eight Ivy League Schools

A Minnesota teen has achieved the rare and prestigious honor of being accepted to all eight Ivy League schools.

Munira Khalif, a senior at Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota, told NBC affiliate KARE that she was accepted to all eight Ivy League schools — plus several other prestigious universities.

“I’m humbled to even be able to have these choices because I know that that’s not the case for everyone,” she said.

The eight Ivy League Schools are Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania. Khalif was also accepted to Stanford, Georgetown and the University of Minnesota.

In addition to stellar grades and test scores, Khalif — who is the daughter of Somali immigrants— is a recipient of the United Nations Youth Courage Award and founder of her own non-profit, Lighting the Way. The organization is dedicated to improving access to education for East African youth.

“You’re not accepted because of a score you’re accepted because of the person that you are,” she told KARE.

Meanwhile in Utica, New York, a Vietnamese immigrant and senior at Thomas R. Proctor High School, was accepted to all 13 schools she applied to — including 5 Ivies.

“I remember in third grade a teacher asked me what I wanted to be and I said: ‘I want to go to the Ivy League and I want to be president,'” Trinh Truong, 17, told NBC affiliate WKTV.