How these students got into every Ivy League school
By Jacqueline Howard, CNN Updated 9:31 AM ET, Mon April 24, 2017
Only a few students can say that they have been accepted into every Ivy League school in the United States: Harvard, Yale, Brown, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Princeton and Cornell.
Among those who can call themselves members of this exclusive club areAugusta Uwamanzu-NnaandKelly Hyles. They received acceptance letters last year from all eight of the Ivy League schools.Harold Ekehdid so the year before last.
This year,Ifeoma White-ThorpeandMartin Altenburgwere accepted into all of the Ivy Leagues. In 2014,Kwasi Eninmade it to the elite eight, andhe now attends Yale, which has anadmissions rate of about 6%.
Students like Martin, 18, and Kwasi, 20, are often celebrated for their successes. Yet the spotlight is seldom turned on their parents -- the adults who raised them.
Kwasi, who is from Shirley, New York, described a jovial childhood with high expectations. "More or less, I have African 'tiger parents,' " he said.
Martin, who lives in Fargo, North Dakota, described his parents as more hands-off. "They let me be a free spirit," he said.
Here's a look at how two different parenting styles, in two different states, led to Martin and Kwasi being accepted into all eight schools.
A tale of two scholastic superstars
When Martin was a young boy, he would sit in his family's basement in Fargo and read old math books. With his big blue eyes scanning the words on the page, he would dream of using mathematical equations to chase down tornadoes and other extreme weather events.
At that age, if you asked Martin what he wanted to be when he grew up, he would say without hesitation: a meteorologist.
"When I was younger, I had the seven-day forecast memorized," said Martin, whose childhood aspiration to chase storms hasn't faded away. He said he still has an interest in atmospheric science.
"If I'm able to get a degree in physics or climate science, I'll be able to pursue that career path after I graduate," Martin said. He has not decided which school he will attend this fall.
Outside of academics, Martin has an interest in running, swimming and the environment.
Growing up in North Dakota, where theoil industry has a strong presenceandoil production has helped propel the economy, Martin said that he thinks his environmentalism helped him stand out among other Ivy League applicants.
"This year, I was president of my school's environment club, and a lot of the projects we did this year focused on a shift in communication efforts," Martin said. "Environmental concerns aren't appreciated that much within my school and within my state, and I want to change that."
Some 1,500 miles away in Shirley, New York, Kwasi Enin also had aspirations to change his community -- and the medical field.
"Somewhere between kindergarten and second grade, I was asked the typical 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' and I just said, 'A doctor,' " Kwasi recalled.
"It was first a little dream," he said. "Now, it is trying to actually finish the path to get to medical school and practice someday."
As a child, Kwasi was quick to smile, had a big heart for those in need and developed a love for music. He said that next year,he will be singingwith theYale Whiffenpoofs, the world's oldest collegiate a cappella group.
In high school, Kwasi sang in his church's choir, played the viola and volunteered at a local hospital in his hometown, about an hour and a half outside New York City.
Now, he continues to volunteer at medical centers in New Haven, Connecticut, and conducts independent biology research.
Last summer, "I was studying basically how stem cells work in planarians, which are little flatworms. These flatworms, if you cut them up down to 1/300th of their size, they can completely regenerate," Kwasi said. "We want to see what key biological markers, what key proteins in these stem cells allow them to be so hyperactive."
He said high school is when students should not only pinpoint what career fields they're interested in but pursue extracurricular activities in those fields.
"Spend a summer in high school to shadow a doctor and see what that's like. Or work in a law firm or even find a music producer in the area and see if you can work with them if that's what you're interested in," Kwasi said. "Try to get exposed to different career paths, because often, the best chances of doing well starts before college."
For himself, Martin and others, Kwasi said that he thinks straight As and high standardized test scores were not the only factors that helped them get accepted into all eight Ivy League schools. They also volunteered and not just participated in but held leadership positions in extracurricular activities, he said.
"These schools are really interested in people who help their community, and I think all of those factors, put together, influence why we fit well into the mold of each of these schools," said Kwasi, who also works as a college admissions consultant for the SAT and ACT test preparation companyPrep Expert.
Martin and Kwasi aren't the only ones who have something in common. Their parents have some commonalities -- three, to be exact.
How academic success can be a family affair
It turns out that parents and their parenting practices can influence children's academic success, said Nancy Hill, a developmental psychologist and professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
" 'Hands-off' parenting can work quite well when students are doing well and have strong positive relationships with teachers and other adults at school. For students who are not well-connected and well-supported by adults at school, 'hands-off' parenting can leave youth feeling marginalized and disconnected from their schoolwork," Hill said.
"Strict parenting can be beneficial for youth in contexts where there are challenges to success. For example, many students of color experience discrimination, negative teacher bias and are subject to negative stereotypes," she said. "In these contexts, strict parenting can be beneficial and has been shown to be positively related to achievement, especially grades, test scores and behavioral engagement."
How much time parents spend with their children can also influence their academic success, according to a report released Wednesday by theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessmentin France.
The report involved a survey of about 540,000 students, about 15 years old, across 72 questions.
Among the students who completed the survey, those whose parents reported "spending time just talking to my child" were two-thirds of a school year ahead of their peers in science learning; even after accounting for socioeconomic status, the advantage remained at one-third of a school year.
For all parents, Hill said that focusing on developing your child's love for learning and helping them find their passion and purpose can be beneficial.
"In our research with adolescents, we find that parenting practices that include helping youth link their education to future goals, looking for ways to increase students opportunities for autonomy, are positively related to achievement, in part because it helps students see the value and meaning of schoolwork," Hill said.
"That is far more important than focusing on acceptance into the Ivy League school. I don't say this to belittle the accomplishments of these two very talented and fortunate students. But because without meaning and purpose, it will be far less fulfilling," she said. "With meaning and a sense of purpose, students can find success and contentment at many schools."
Kwasi and Martin seem to agree.
"Try to find colleges that match your interest," Kwasi said when asked about advice he has for high school students. "Schools like Ivy Leagues have different strengths and weaknesses in different fields, and knowing what their strengths and weaknesses are can help you."
Martin said students should apply to their dream schools, even if they fear they won't get accepted.
"Still apply," he said. "If you're able to get into these colleges, you're probably going to be able to succeed in this environment, and you're going to succeed in whatever college environment you put yourself into, whether it's community college or state college or Ivy League college."