15 Year Old Nigerian Girl Secures Admission to Study in Havard | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Wednesday 29 August 2012

15 Year Old Nigerian Girl Secures Admission to Study in Havard

 
15 year old Saheela Ibrahim (pictured above) was accepted into 13 schools, which included Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, University of Chicago, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Cornell and 4 other Universities. She picked Harvard. She will be heading to the university this fall to study neurobiology or neuroscience. 

The high school senior at Wardlaw-Hartridge private school wasn't sure any university would want to admit a 15 year old, so she filled out applications to 14 schools with 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). 13 schools accepted her, including six of the eight Ivy League schools.

Saheela will be among the youngest members of Harvard's freshman class.

Saheela wants 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.”

156 comments:

Nekky said...

woooow! woooow!! woooow!!!! incredible!!! i'm short of words. she's simply a genius.Goodluck girl

Warri Girl said...

This gal is intelligent, happy 4her.

BLOGBABY said...

wow! i love good news..all the best girl!

Nucreed said...

Wow! Happy for her. Go girl!

Anonymous said...

Dats wonderful.I'm so proud of her.

Unknown said...

So Dope.....will like to av an interview with her tho

pweetylisa said...

Woow, really intelligent. Kudos 2 her

BONARIO NNAGS said...

Congrats my dear u're a role model and motivation to ur peers. Atleast a Nigerian is on d limelight for something good ~BONARIO~says so via NOKIA3310.

Anonymous said...

Heartwarming stuff.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Saheela!

Anonymous said...

See brain!!thank God shz in the US..if t were naija..mchewww wasted knowledge eh!

Anonymous said...

you mean North Carolina not Caroline...kai! Congrats to her sha

big penis guy. said...

thank God for her life. I wish u success in all ur endeavours.

Unknown said...

Fantastic!

omar said...

I wish I was smart lik u.... Happy 4 u Gudluck

Tunero said...

There is nothing special about this news, we have thousands of 'real' Nigerian kids that can do the same if put in the same 'enabling' environment like this girl. Will ve been 'wowed' if she was able to achieve this in a 'real Naija environment"" only then can we say she is 'special'! Congrats to her!

Anonymous said...

Amazing....Congrats!

Anonymous said...

if there is one thing I so much cherish in life, it is inteligence. Can't compromise it.

A genius wanted for marriage, apply within. Lol.

once again, congratulations dear.
Amoke

omar said...

I wish i was smart lik her. Gudluck geh.......

chikandy said...

Very smart I must say. Hardwork and perseverance says my Daddy.

Anonymous said...

Damn!!!! Dts so cool....

NANA said...

see me with my 2:1 degree from cardiff university thinking i am brainy (cover face olodo like me) good luck to her xoxo

Anonymous said...

Blabbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

Hawkeye said...

I bet she doesnt put up "ëlegushi on point, oniru loading, oral inna bit"...betta pikin.....

Anonymous said...

Success all d way

Anonymous said...

Pls dis gal too much abeg, how do I motivate my kids do same cos cartoon seems their mainstay even though I know dey'r hot bookwise.

Anonymous said...

wao! Breathe taken,i pray God will see her through

Anonymous said...

No Linda, she is not Nigerian- she just happens to have Nigerian origins.

deekay said...

Impressive! All the best.

abubakar said...

Masha Allah. Good to see such a young and intelligent Nigerian sister make a mark in society. Who says nothing good can come out of Nigeria. We are truly a blessed Nation, if only we can look past our tribes, regions and religious sentiments.

Kemi said...

I am not trying to undermine her achievement, but the key word here is Wardlaw-Hartridge!!! This school is not beans....Any averagely motivated child in a federal government school in Nigeria can achieve this if put in that school!!! FYI: School fees for high school is $31,150 per school year = about 5 million/ school year. They are not charging that amount just because, they have some of the best teachers and facilities in the world for there students!!!

You still don't believe, Here is there Tuition website: http://www.whschool.org/ftpimages/202/misc/misc_110843.pdf

Anonymous said...

Success Dear, go make us proud, show them we still have enough talents and brians in NIGERIA. love the course you opted for. its such a befitting course. CONGRATS

Unknown said...

naija is blessed .. the only problem we have is dat sme peeps fail to admit it.. GOD bless u gal.. throughtout ur study in HARVARD.. i pray she'll always cme out as one of the best or better still the best....

cat-eye said...

Wow!Thats a genius in the making!

Anonymous said...

Wit al dis brain she go cum b 3rd or 4th wyf. Kai but she's xcellent. Wat a genius

Jeffiejay said...

Wow! Speechless!

nikkymandy said...

I AM WOW-ED JEEEZ....GO GIRL

Anonymous said...

Wow,dis girl is great

NEKS said...

Tears in my eyes as I read this..pple like ds make me want 2 turn back d hands of time and take my books more seriously..congrats dear...make ur parents proud wen u get der...NEKS

AJ said...

Wow...that's great.But it shouldn't end there o...pls come back to Nigeria afterwards and add to our society...

ejura ocholi said...

wooow this is nice. wish her all the best in life.

Anonymous said...

Woa, thats awesome.

Anonymous said...

incredible! God bless her...Dear unborn child i hope you are seeing this...come to earth and make me proud!

Anonymous said...

Bravo gulr, you a simply the best. Congrats.

Anonymous said...

This is a role model for young kids of today to emulate

Anonymous said...

Kids of this days, all they do is carry blackberry and i-fone around and waste their time on worthless stuff. I'm glad we still have some kids we can read their stories and smile

Unknown said...

Please Linda help us to create this topic Aboyasco driving academy limited Accra Ghana defraud us 1.4 Million Naira


My name is Johnson dike I need a serious advise from you people i travel to Ghana with my friend Adebayor and my sister and my cousin since 18th of April 2012 and we are looking for house to rent and we meet one agent and we told him that we need 3 bedroom flat to rent he told us he have some he took us to the place and show us 2 bedroom and chamber and 1 bedroom and chamber the house is 2 storey building with 6 flats so we tell him it is ok with us since the 2 bedroom and chamber and 1 bedroom and chamber are in the same building and it is a new house and after that we meet the land -lord in his office that is in the same building where he is doing driving school business the name of the company is Aboyasco driving academy limited the man name is Abraham and he told us we have to pay 350 Ghana cedis per month for 2 years rent for 2 bedroom and chamber which is 8,400 Ghana Cedis for 2 years which is about 800,000 Naira and we have to pay 250 Ghana Cedis per month for the 2 years rent for 1 bedroom and chamber which is 6,000 Ghana Cedis for 2 years and which is about 600,000 Naira and the rooms and chambers remain only to paint it and Abraham and his wife told us that once we paid the money he will paint the rooms and chamber the same day and the next day we brought the money which is 14400 Ghana Cedis total and which is about 1.4 million Naira and we paid the agent 10% which is 140 Ghana which is about 140,000 Naira and the man told us to come back and collect the keys of house in 2 days time and we came back as the man told us but nothing have done in the flats we paid for we ask the man he told us that the person that we supply him paint will bring the paint in 4 days time that we should come back and when the time reach we came to the place again and the man was telling us that the need to fix some plumber problem before painting the rooms and chamber he give us another 1 week to come and collect the key and we came back there we don't meet the man in the house and nothing have done in the flats we paid for we become worried and in the 3 days time we came back there and went straight to the place we paid for we saw 2 girls in the room we ask them about Abraham and the told us the are waiting for him and the ask us if we paid for the flats we told them yes the were laughing and told us the also paid for the same Apartment we are surprise we thought the are joking we are there discussing about the issue another Nigeria meet us in the Apartment and was telling us that he paid for the same Apartment we begin to discuss with our local language and he was telling us that he meet about 8 people that paid for this Apartment and we left and we have been coming there every day and each day we saw new faces that paid for the house and we later find that the man collected money from 16 Nigerians and 23 Ghanians and the house is 2 storey building with only 6 flats that means only 6 tenant have to live in the house and the man have been using the money to build another houses in the compound he don't want to complete the place we paid for or refund us our money we have complain to police but the are not doing anything because the man gave them money please what can we do to get our money back it is about 4 months we paid this money


Thanks i will appreciate if the can move this to the front page

Anonymous said...

That I say is the Naija spirit that should be projected for all to see...#mythoughts@

Anonymous said...

Entering the best universities in the world she got a first class brain God would see u thru in your new journey to uni.

Anonymous said...

At least another good news from a Nigerian in diaspora. Good luck girl.

mzdeei said...

wooooooooooooooow!!!!! MIT and stanford are my dream schools for masters. im happy for her and pray to get any of an ivy league school wen im thru wv my service. shine on girl.....

anjie said...

choi...in awe mehn,,and those array of schools??..shocking!

Anonymous said...

She is super intelligent, am proud of her.

Anonymous said...

Wow!!! Way to go girl. Ur quite a challenge to me. Goodluck!!!

Anonymous said...

she's just not intelligent, but she has been nurtured in the right way by her parents. and excellence has become a way of life for her.
congrats to her and her parents, they must be so proud

Anonymous said...

i hope she is a nigeria , our leaders should make use of a intelligent in our scientific sector.

Anonymous said...

Incredible!

Glam Princess said...

This is wonderful! a big congrats to her!

Anonymous said...

Her father, an analyst
and vice-president at a New York financial firm,
Abegg wot do u expect I tot the girl studied here in Nigeria, well I wish her all the best and wen she's done schooling let her come home and practice so dat we can be really proud of her.

Anonymous said...

go girl cos u ar jst evry parents dream-child. best of luck

Anonymous said...

Father's need to take a cue from her father. Mother's alone can't do it. Go girl

Anonymous said...

This shows they are also very intelligent people from the north of nigeria...they are not all Boko haram

Emi said...

Her father an analyst i can e imagine go girl but wait ooo linda dis girl is nt a nigerian but an american born n breed there smh 4 nija.

my opinion counts said...

Dis is great

Anonymous said...

WOW! WAY TO GO...

Anonymous said...

Well done,too young bt wiv brain.I envy u
Dearie,all d best.

Anonymous said...

She has got NIgerian heritage but if she has never been to Nigeria then she is not "Nigerian"

Anonymous said...

Wow!! The girl is on her way to greatness. I pray nothing deters her. This is soooo incredible for a girl her age.
Kech

Anonymous said...

Happy Fø̲̣̣я̅ her and her parents, may God make ♍γ̲̣̣̥ kids this intelligent too

Anonymous said...

Am hoping with all her education she won't become a muslim extremist lk habib,any way kudos to an intellect.

IVORY CHI said...

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH HER LAST QUOTE


MOTIVATION AND GOD = DIVINE SUCCESS

CONGRATS TO THE GIRL.

Anonymous said...

9jadeltapikin... Not only that this gurl Ȋ̊§ intelligent she Ȋ̊§ Ǧ☺☺ϑ α̲̅πϑ with the help of her father who study wth her evry night brought her out, NIGERIA fathers learn from this man.

nu.girl said...

That's fantastic, I wish her all the best..

Anonymous said...

wow,nice one.well it could hv been anyone,even my 16yrs old cousin filled for 3 schs and also was given admission in all.so it could be a matter of opportunity,brillant, money at hand or power.at 15yrs thumps up gal

Anonymous said...

Human computer!!!!!

Anonymous said...

WOW!!!She got admitted into all the freaking ivy leagues!!As in..all of them!!!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations luv! this is just the begining of your success!!

Unknown said...

Shes got lovely eyes! God bless her:-)

Anonymous said...

@Anonymous!
Whats d correlation with her success and being an extremist? U are unhappy dat she is muslim, ryt? Go suck ur thumb or jump into the lagoon...U 24-Carat fool.

Saheela...way to go dear and remember dat hijab is ur pride!!!

Anonymous said...

Excellent girl....kp d good work...

Anonymous said...

@anon 11:39 am which one is scientific sector again?i beg shut ure mouth

Anonymous said...

Ohh shuussh man I have my iphone but do u know what my grades were for my Alevels .. Oniranu!

happyhausabunny said...

Wow! She's a very good role model 4 teens her age 2 emulate! Congrats n wishn her all d very best in her academics n evrthn she sets out 2 do!

Anonymous said...

See brains!!!

ace said...

intelligent or possessed. Na m**maid joo

Anonymous said...

nyc one...wishin ya d best dearie...

Anonymous said...

Na wa o!

big penis guy. said...

@NEKS lol. time never late ooo. u can as well go back and rewrite WAEC. #BIGDICKROCKS

Anonymous said...

What An inspiration! The world awaits you Saheela.. Go for gold!!

Anonymous said...

Ayayayayaiiiiii!!!!Wow! Thumbs up, darling. God continue to bless u and may U continually please Him. x

Iya Lola said...

simply inspiring

Iya Lola said...

quite inspiring

AJ said...

Anon 11:21...so true! Kids of nowadays just waste away in front of the T.V, watching all manner of trash. They carry expensive phones and stuff but all they do is take all kinds of duck-face pictures in the bathroom and post them on fb, twitter and so on. Falling in and out of love a hundred times before they are 13! They are always looking for the latest fashion pieces and spend so much on them...And parents are not helping matters...May God help us and this new generation...

Anonymous said...

now that's what am talking about girl keep making your parents and yourself proud.

Anonymous said...

Congrat 2 her,am not really suprise my own sister just got admitted into uniben at d age of 15.sm children r just very intelligent

Anonymous said...

Congrat 2 her,am not really suprise my own sister just got admitted into uniben at d age of 15.sm children r just very intelligent

Anonymous said...

kudos to her

Anonymous said...

My kids wud be more brilliant

baby cute said...

brilliant girl, all in all God really loves her,without HIS help she wouldnt have gone this far

alivyah said...

I so agree with what Kemi said, the girl is based and was raised abroad.If the girl went to school in Nigeria for the fact she is coming from nigeria alone is almost impossible for her to get any where. Paying 5 million for high school of course she is gonna be drilled and taught in the harvard way, happy for her though wudda bn more intrigued if she was coming from a school in nigeria.

Leeely Clinton said...

The best news for today!! OMG this is very inspiring. For once, lets be identified for something as awesome as this. I pray that God will keep her more focused to enable her achieve all her dreams

Anonymous said...

Who ask u?

Anonymous said...

Da fuq is oral? LMAO!!

Anonymous said...

hmm. that good. keep soaring!!

Anonymous said...

Go WHSchool! To the green and the gold! Producing geniuses! congrats to the girl!

CHICHILUV said...

YOU GO GIRL!!!! I LOVE IT!!! ALL THE BEST ALL THE VERY BEST AND MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS YOU IMMENSELY!

Mz Tee said...

I'm actually tearing up!!!! See intelligence at the bud!! I'm happy for this little one, and esp proud to see some parents still have the time to educate their children! Daddy Saheela, kudos to u!!

Anonymous said...

Am not surprised Naija are brilliant pple name it & am so sure she's got no boyfriend telling her lies yet why wont she be focused & when u are u'll excel.

Anonymous said...

Errrm ogbeni lucabracee wey u?? U will never comment on something this good
Congrats Saheela!!

Anonymous said...

Good for her. I hope she uses her education to help Nigeria.

Iwu Gideon said...

Doing her people proud. Best of luck, dear.

Morlard said...

ShET!! See SAT score , mine was ... Hehehe !! She's a Special case ... given her background ... Good , she wanna study about brains !! That's just wonderful ...

Ziba! said...

Wow!!! I wish her even greater success to come o. But the this just goes to show that if we improve our educational system here, NIGERIANS CAN BE THE BEST AND BEAT DEVELOPED COUNTRIES IN EVERYTHING. I mean did you check out the link Kemi posted earlier??? I'm not sure she would have hit that mark if she studied here - maybe close, but not that mark #mythots

Anonymous said...

you are a very stupid and ignorAnt human being - #hiss#

doll (retired blogger) said...

lmao' elegunshi loading, oniru chilling, so true

God help the youth

Anonymous said...

Go Saheela, i wish you the best. all your hard work will be crowned with glory. Amen

Anonymous said...

She should remove that hijab,she go get yawa for that o

Anonymous said...

Abegiiii, u don start. What the person said is true. She is just one out of the few muslims who have achieved something good. And its been a while we have heard or seen something good about a muslim.... So stfu

Unknown said...

when I read things like this I ask my self question, like is she not a person like you? how many brains does she have? why cant your brain be this good? Omo news like this dey weaken me but all the same congrats to her

Anonymous said...

She's with the 2015 class and was admitted into Harvard last year and is starting her sophomore (2nd) year when school resumes. So she didnt just secure admission :) Go Saheela!

Baba Ibeji said...

All the best Aburo .....

Anonymous said...

kudos to her and her parents...shes a product of good and upright bringing..

Anonymous said...

Kemi at 10:55am, you ARE trying to undermine her achievement. Private school in the US is generally expensive and i can bet you that her school is not closest to being one of the most expensive. She is intelligent, more importantly she worked very hard,and she outshone her peers! An averagely motivated kid cannot accomplish this, expensive school or not. So please let us give credit where it is due. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

MUMU, big one. U can't even write correct english. What are you doing in ghana? How daft can you be in ghana that you'll pay rent in full before moving into an uncompleted building. Then 140 ghana cedis is less than 14k naira not the 140,000naira u claim. You don't even know d value of the money you claim. I bet you didn't collect reciept too. Daft guy.

NEKS said...

Lol..now dats a thought..I think I just might...NEKS

Anonymous said...

Please her father could have been the president of America or wheelbarrow pusher in nigeria and it still wont guarantee her such perfect SAT scores. Regardless of where she was schooled or raised, the bottom line here is you study hard and prepare a compelling application package(essays and all)= great SAT scores=admission + scholarship to top schools. There are people who have been abroad all their lives and cannot even pass SAT and their are people from inner cities in Nigeria like my home city Aba who got admission and scholarship to Harvard & MIT. Its no magic. stop the excuses, study hard and you'll be rewarded.

Anonymous said...

Congrats gal.. Naija pple are super intelligent.. If only more of us can have such unique opportunities to study in ivy league schools or indeed beta schs abroad, u wud b amazed at how much we can achieve. Be gud at sch, stay focused and dynamic. All d best.

I finished wit a first class in lag but sadly goin abroad for my masters is notin but a dream cos I have no sponsors. Wud continue to hustle in naija n pray God blesses my efforts with success.

Anonymous said...

BRAVO!
EXCELLENTE!

This makes Nigerians proud.

Anonymous said...

Anon 7:18pm, a lack of sponsors should not hinder you from getting a higher education. There are a few scholarships and organizations out there that reward excellence (like your first class) and would be willing to pay for your tuition. You just have to hustle and keep trying. Also inquire into your schools of interest, you never know what offerings they might have. For instance, if Harvard won't give you a scholarship, they would at least give you a loan where you wouldnt need a cosigner. Guy/ Girl, where there is a will, there is a way!

The sage said...

I don't think this person is a Nigerian. Not just cos he was conned, but because of the English used and that the story isn't too tight. What is bedroom and chamber?

And if you can spell adebayo as adebayor then u must be a Benenoiur or Togolese. Must of them claim Nigerian when they get into trouble anyways.

The sage said...

You must be from ghana.

Nonhater said...

LINDA PLS UPDATE THIS STORY AND WRITE THE FULL STORY ABOUT HOW SHE ALSO EXCELS IN DIFFERENT SPORTS AND EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES. OUR PEOPLE NEED TO REALISE ITS NOT ALWAYS ONLY ABOUT THE BOOKS

The sage said...

I beg to disagree slightly. Study hard yes, but in what health condition? In which study environment? With what amenities?
Its an advantage to study in a place like the US. U'd naturally be studying smart, studying hard will just be a bonus.

MAhearty said...

Abi º°˚˚°˚˚°♧ congrats don't forget the soil you are from Na always 9ja

Anonymous said...

A huge congtrats,i claim this sort of child by God's grace.How could most Nigerian kids do well?i don't hold them responsible,when most of them can't even tell where the next meal would be coming from.Most have to sell all day for their parents.

Anonymous said...

Oh boy!!! Every freakin' Ivy-League school. Bawse!

monye said...

a round of applause to d little girl. what a great feat!

Anonymous said...

Lmfao *Aura* pls! Thank me later. (AAR) pls post o linda :|

Unknown said...

Such an intelligent young girl. Her success is also attributed to the father for coaching her at night according to the post. For the bible says: teach your child the right way to go so that when she grows up, she will not depart from it.

Anonymous said...

Yea, i agree wit u, so wen she's thru wit her studies, she should come home and check the brain of her brothers n sistas (boko harams)

Anonymous said...

Who told you people this girl is Nigerian?
She was not born in Nigeria neither does she think Nigerian. She has probably never been to Nigeria. She is born/bred American.

Anonymous said...

Kilode, y u dey tea up? Train up ur child in d way of the Lord,sho gbo!!! No dey allow ur pikin watch Aki & Pawpaw all the time. Shey u read d part wey den talk say d Papa they always sacrifice time @ night 2 study wit d girl ehn, so give up late night sex & start studyin wit ur pikin 4 night!!! Ntoi

Anonymous said...

7.18 if u did finish with 1st lag and want to go to yankee.... All u need is to study hard for gre , try and have an almost perfect school and then apply to a couple of top schools....... One of them will definitely give u a full scholarship if u had first class and top gre scores

Its a lot easier than u think.... Go for it. That's what I did and did masters and phd for free on full grant

Anonymous said...

You don't have to insult everyone with an opinion weda positive or negative.let ACE be @ anonymous 3.39pm

Anonymous said...

THIS IS GOOD NEWS VERY HAPPY FOR HER GO SWEETHEART

Azeezah Usman said...

I am proud of her and i wish her the very best. God bless and see her thru......one of our own......coool

Anonymous said...

linda, now this is a true 'beauty of the day'

Unknown said...

Iam soo impressed. Nigeria students go go go. We can get to the top.

Azeezah said...

This is the first time am commenting on this blog. @ brilliant gal,congrat sis. May U̶̲̥̅̊ always excel in your endeavors.
And for U̶̲̥̅̊ 'anon 11:01' talking about being a 3rd or 4th wife;am sure you said that cos the gal is a muslim,that shows how shortsighted and shallow minded U̶̲̥̅̊ are. I am a muslim gal,born and breed in Nigeria,a legal practitioner. I am married to a single man. So are countless muslim gals in the world.
'Anon 3:57' you need to do lots of homework cos it is very obvious you are blind to the world around you. There are tons of achievers all over the world who are muslims (even Nobel Laureates;among them are women who don their hijab with pride.) I know muslim men and women here in Nigeria who never even attend Secondary schs (but went to Arabic schools for 9yrs)then wrote GCE to get into University. Most of them are Professors and Justices in Nig today. So please before you blah away next time;do Ūя̲̅ home work.
'Anon 3:52' pls hijab isn't a barrier but a shield for a right thinking muslim woman. Islam has given women rights several centuries before the western woman can even dream it. So stop judging islam based on some pervasive cultural belief of some "ignorant muslim"
I am proud to be a hijabi.
May God bless all Nigerians and assist us to be able to overcome all these "Boko Haram" wahala.

Anonymous said...

Oxford isn't in the list

Anonymous said...

Oh God, i was hot in my days, please bless me with a child this hot!

god bless you dear, your parents did an awesome job with your foundation.. Parents sould know, the foundation needs to be solid too.

All the best dear. may Allah bless and protect you.

A said...

I started university at the same age ,nothing like Harvard but pretty darn close. I was certain Harvard will not accept me because of my age so I didn't even bother with the application process. It's nice seeing young ladies getting credit for things like this and not being 16 & Pregnant or being the first to get married. lol

Anonymous said...

yawning, n today. There are a lot of them ooooo

Anonymous said...

Waoooo. Impressive

Anonymous said...

Take note that she will not come back to Nigeria again!

kpolli said...

She isn't rather wasn't 15 when she got this admission...

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