NJ high school senior accepted to 7 Ivy League colleges: ‘I’m still processing it’

Angel Ortiz, a high school senior at Arts High School in Newark, New Jersey, has achieved the remarkable feat of being accepted to seven Ivy League schools. Ortiz received acceptance letters from prestigious universities such as Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, University of Pennsylvania, and Dartmouth College.

Upon receiving the acceptance notifications, Ortiz was in disbelief and spent two hours walking around his kitchen in shock while his mother sat there in disbelief as well. The 17-year-old student never anticipated getting into every Ivy League school he applied to and is still processing the news.

Ortiz, who aspires to major in political science, is known among his peers as the smartest student in the room. His teacher, Sean Kenny, attested to Ortiz’s academic excellence, stating that if there is a question the class doesn’t understand, they simply point to Ortiz because he always knows the answer.

Despite his exceptional academic achievements, Ortiz credits his friends for serving as extra motivation to complete his school work. He also attributes his strong work ethic to his parents, who emigrated to the United States 23 years ago. His father, who owns a pizzeria, instilled in him the value of hard work and dedication.

As a first-generation Latino son of immigrants, Ortiz is aware of the challenges in accessing avenues like college for people from his community. He hopes to be a positive representation of his community and loved ones during his college life and future career.

Ortiz plans to tour the Ivy League institutions before making his final decision, which needs to be made by his 18th birthday on April 30th. He intends to pursue a career in law after studying political science.

The Ivy League schools that have accepted Ortiz have notoriously low acceptance rates, with Harvard at 3.6%, Yale at 3.7%, Columbia at 3.85%, Princeton at 4.62%, Brown at 5.16%, University of Pennsylvania at 5.38%, and Dartmouth at 5.41%. The only Ivy League school Ortiz did not apply to, Cornell University, has a 9.73% acceptance rate.