This year, the eight Ivy League Schools received a total of 275,515 applications. With acceptance rates as low as 5.2%, it has never been harder to get into one of these prestigious universities.
With so many students clamoring to get in, it may come as a surprise that Eghosa Amadin, a teenager from Cypress, Texas who was accepted by seven Ivies, turned down every offer.
Instead, she's attending Stanford University, one of the most prestigious schools, although not in the Ivy League. The reason: Amadin believes the university's well-regarded engineering program and proximity to Silicon Valley will enable her to help others.
Stanford, otherwise known as the "Western Ivy," is also extremely difficult to get into and this year accepted only 4.7% of applicants.
"Being in the heart of Silicon Valley, I think the opportunity for internships, research opportunities, for jobs, would be more plentiful over there," said Amadin.
The talented teen hopes that taking advantage of these opportunities will help her end poverty. This has been her life's missions since Amadin took a trip with her family to a Nigerian village experiencing famine.
"There are just slums and there would be hundreds of people just laying down and one little area trying to eat anything that they can and I guess in that moment I realized I have to do better," she tells ABC. "I had to do more. I have to do the best that I can to move higher in life."
As a Stanford Cardinal, Amadin will be among great company. Entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Larry Page, politicians John F. Kennedy and Mitt Romney and entertainers Reese Witherspoon and Issa Rae all attended the
Amadin's love of learning started at a young age. "I would go to the library and get a huge stack of books and be done with it in like a week," she says.
"My parents had always told me from the beginning that the best thing you can ever do for yourself, just get a good education," Amadin tells ABC.
Don't miss: High schoolers can now earn a $1,000 scholarship for completing a free financial literacy course
