Many parents dream of their children going to Harvard one day. But a Muslim girl has actualised the goal of getting into the prestigious university at the age of 15!

Saheela Ibraheem, of Edison, was also accepted to MIT and 13 other schools, including Princeton and Columbia before settling for Harvard after falling in love with the campus. She skipped two grades and said the key to success is figuring out what you love to learn as early as possible, something she did at age 5. “If you are passionate about what you do, and I am passionate about most of these things, especially with Math.”

She is well on her way to fulfilling her dreams of one day becoming a Neuroscientist. This fall, the 15 year-old high school senior will be heading to Harvard University. Harvard was one of the 14 schools that Saheela applied to. She was accepted into 13 of those schools: Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Williams College, Stanford, University of Chicago, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Washington University in St. Louis. After much debate, she settled on Harvard because “she fell in love” with the campus. She hopes to study neurobiology or neuroscience while at the prestigious university.

She serves as president of the school’s investment club, which teaches students about the stock market by investing in virtual stocks. Saheela wasn’t sure any college would want to admit a 15-year-old. So, she hedged her bets and filled out applications to 14 schools from New Jersey to California. In the end, 13 colleges accepted her, including six of the eight Ivy League schools.

After weeks of debate, Saheela settled on Harvard. She will be among the youngest members of the school’s freshman class. Nationwide, this year’s college selection process was among the most competitive in history as most top colleges received a record number of applications.

Saheela joins a growing number of New Jersey students going to college before they are old enough to drive. Last year, Kyle Loh of Mendham graduated from Rutgers at 16. In previous years, a 14-year-old from Cranbury and two of his 15-year-old cousins also graduated from Rutgers. For Saheela, her unusual path to college began when she was a sixth-grader at the Conackamack Middle School in Piscataway. Eager to learn more about her favorite subject, Math, the daughter of Nigerian immigrants asked to move to a higher-level class. The school let her skip sixth grade entirely.

By high school, Saheela said, she was no longer feeling challenged by her public school classes. So, she moved to the Wardlaw- Hartridge School, a 420-student private school, where she skipped her freshman year and enrolled as a 10th-grader. Her three younger brothers, twins now in the ninth grade and a younger brother in second grade, all eventually joined her at the school. School officials were impressed Saheela, one of their top students, didn’t spend all her time studying. “She’s learned and she’s very smart. But she keeps pushing herself,” said William Jenkins, the Wardlaw-Hartridge School’s director of development.

Saheela also excels outside the classroom. She is a three-sport athlete, playing outfield for the school’s softball team, defender on the soccer team, and swimming relays. Saheela began applying to colleges last fall. Her applications included her grade point average (between a 96 and 97 on a 100-point scale) and her 2,340 SAT score (a perfect 800 on the math section, a 790 in writing and a 750 in reading). She was delighted when she got her first acceptance in December from California Institute of Technology. “I was so excited. I got into college!,” Saheela said.

More acceptances followed from Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, Williams College, Stanford, University of Chicago, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Washington University in St. Louis. Saheela was torn between going to MIT and Harvard. A visit to both campuses last month made the choice easy. “She went to Harvard and she fell in love with the place,” said Shakirat Ibraheem, her mother.

She said she wants to major in either neurobiology or neuroscience and plans to become a research scientist who studies how the brain works. She credits her parents with teaching her to love learning and work hard. Her father, Sarafa, an analyst and vice-president at a New York financial firm, would often study with her at night and home school her in subjects not taught at school. “I try my best in everything I do,” Saheela said. “Anyone who’s motivated can work wonders.”

http://nationalmirroronline.net/religion/religion-news/48066.html

Great And Inspiring

This news is old now...

Inspiring and Motivating. All the best Saheela

Very good. Only that many things are clear.

She is brilliant.
She is from a rich or upper middle class family.
She does not live in Nigeria.

The above factors and many more works against many people who are far more brilliant. I am saying all that because we shouldnt sing so much of her praises.

I wish her goodluck though.

Good, but not a way to success

[img]http://www.sympato.ch/smileys/Censored.gif[/img]
thats great
[img]http://www.sympato.ch/smileys/megabounce.gif[/img]

So where the hell does the girl identify with Nigeria? Smh @ lazy, amebo Nigerians looking for cheap publicity for their useless and shameful country. Leave the poor lass alone.

naija, where anything can happen

After una go say awusa people no dey go skool

being rich makes things easy...
there are so many brilliant children with poor background, nobody to push them up

wishing her all the best

pomohs: naija, where anything can happen

_
SHE NEVER WENT TO SCHOOL IN NIGERIA! SHE'S NOT A PRODUCT OF THE NIGERIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM!

this an old story! she may be 30 now

Congrats to her.keep the flag flying babe.nothing do you

Mhen, I'm soo jealous + envious of diz gal! Mhen, money iz so_goooood! At least if there was money, I also would have gotten quality education

SimonAndal:
_
SHE NEVER WENT TO SCHOOL IN NIGERIA! SHE'S NOT A PRODUCT OF THE NIGERIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM!

So?

cantell:
So?

_
I was clearly NOT addressing you. I was OBVIOUSLY talking to the guy whose post I quoted.

so?? We should go and hang ourself for not going to havard

When one of us wins a gold medal at the Olympics
They call us British, but when we do anything wrong
- then we are Muslims.

They creat our identity, we have no say in the matter.


Congratulating girl.

.

Kudos.

May Allah give you strength and wisdom in your pursuit.

chizzy94: So?..wats so special about havard??no place like home!
Greatest Akokite!

Akokite ko Maulag ni...abeg, shoe get size.

SimonAndal: So where the hell does the girl identify with Nigeria? Smh @ lazy, amebo Nigerians looking for cheap publicity for their useless and shameful country. Leave the poor lass alone.

I swear! Very pathetic. See as dem dey claim relationship, when ironically, she could give two shiits about Nigeria.

Sam Milla: Very good. Only that many things are clear.

She is brilliant.
She is from a rich or upper middle class family.
She does not live in Nigeria.

The above factors and many more works against many people who are far more brilliant. I am saying all that because we shouldnt sing so much of her praises.

I wish her goodluck though.

Very well said my dear brother.

Whymee: When one of us wins a gold medal at the Olympics
They call us British, but when we do anything wrong
- then we are Muslims.

They creat our identity, we have no say in the matter.


Congratulating girl.

Actually,there‘s no need to bring religion sentiment into this.. It is hightime u differentiated btw religion& other aspects of life.
@op...good for her&her family but na old news.

Awesome.

afam4eva: This news is old now...

Not just old, it's ancient

fergieboy: so?? We should go and hang ourself for not going to havard

yes please! Would love to see u dangling on d tallest Iroko tree. Thou hater of good things.

If we recycled waste the way we recycle news in this country, Lagos, Aba and Onitsha would be sparkling clean! For God's sake, this news is over 6 months old!!!

I am yet to read about a Nigerian who lives in Nigeria gaining an Ivy League admission at age 18, even 20. We need to start tackling d factors making us dull in our land and bright in d West

Brilliance runs in their family....I heard finished with a first class degree from our own University of Ibadan.... Offspring of a tiger takes after no other than the great wild cat himself

How or when did this girl become a Nigerian? Simply bc shes black?
We like to claim anything that has to do with success. If na cocaine she carry or 419 most of us will go tribalistic and this post will reach 10 pages under 1 hour.

second to Mildred Okpala, thumbs up!