Fullerton teen wanted by every Ivy League school chooses Yale
Fernando Rojas, a senior at Fullerton High School, stands with his parents, Raul Rojas and Maria, in Fullerton. Rojas was accepted into all eight Ivy League schools. He is planning on attending Yale University in the fall.
A Fullerton teen who is one of an elite crew accepted by all eight Ivy League schools has decided to go to Yale.
Fernando Rojas, 17, is the son of Mexican immigrants. He is a skilled debater, earning a national championship, according to KABC-TV.
He was a co-valedictorian at Fullerton High School, and attributes his success to his parents, who told him to reach high.
“Both my parents instilled working hard, never giving up and just a resilience,” he told the news station.
Fernando’s mother is a seamstress and his father is a machine operator. They moved from Mexico to the Orange County city, where they raised their four children.
Fernando is one of at least eight students across the U.S. who were accepted this year to all the Ivy League schools: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania and Yale. He also got into Stanford, UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton.
Choosing between so many schools was hard, but Rojas said he narrowed it down to Harvard and Yale.
He eventually went with Yale, he told the Orange County Register, because the students appeared motivated to get started. The newspaper said he had a 4.8 GPA.
He has said he plans to focus on Latin American studies and law.
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