The son of Nigerian immigrants, Jude Okonkwo was accepted to all eight Ivy League schools, joining a growing club of Nigerian teens who have achieved the distinction; Olawunmi Akinlembola, Ifeoma White-Thorpe, Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna, Obinna Igbokwe, and Harold Eke.
The 17-year-old Chaminade High School will have his pick of the elite schools, Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University and must decide where to enroll by May 1st, 2017.
“I’m so grateful that, after all of the work I’ve put in, I’m able to reap the benefits as well and that all those who have helped and watched me see that hard work has truly paid off,” said Okonkwo, who hopes to set a good example for his four younger siblings.
Okonkwo, the son of physicians, aspires to be a neurosurgeon and looked for schools with strong science and medical programs, including those with a combined bachelor’s degree and medical school acceptance. His unweight grade-point average is 98.9.
He also was accepted to Howard University in Washington, D.C.; Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore; Northeast Ohio Medical University’s baccalaureate-medical degree program; Stony Brook University; University of Missouri; Washington University in St. Louis and Wayne State University in Detroit.