A New Jersey student has a tough decision to make by April 30 as he weighs which of the 7 Ivy League schools he will attend this coming fall. 17-year-old Angel Ortiz, a student at Arts High School in Newark received an early acceptance letter to Princeton in December and then received acceptances from Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, the University of Pennsylvania, and Dartmouth College. The only Ivy League school Ortiz was not accepted into is Cornell, simply because Ortiz did not apply there. Despite his impressive 34 on the ACT, 1480 on the SAT, and 4.3 GPA, being accepted to all the schools he applied to was a shock for Ortiz. “I never expected something like that to happen. It was always in my mind that I could have gotten into one Ivy League, but multiple? I knew it was a small chance of happening but I decided to apply anyway ’cause why not?” he told The New York Post. “And so, opening up those applications and seeing that my work was worth it and was good enough to be considered by these elite institutions was just incredible.”

Ortiz, who was also named valedictorian at his school, credited his parents, who immigrated from Oaxaca, Mexico to the US, for inspiring his hard work. They now own two pizzerias. “I always tell them, the way I work hard for you guys, that’s the way you guys got to work, this is for your future, this is for you,” said his father, Mariano Ortiz. Ortiz would be a first-generation college student in his family. “As a first-generation Latino son of immigrants, I know that avenues like college are much harder to access for people like us. I hope that now, during my college life, and in my future career, I can be the best representation of my community and loved ones,” said Ortiz.

Ortiz intends to study political science, with the hopes of pursuing law or politics. “I’ve recently felt more determined to get myself into that circle and project my voice on a grander scale,” he said. Arts High School also celebrated Ortiz’s achievement in a statement. “Angel’s acceptance to seven Ivy League institutions is a personal triumph and a powerful symbol of what is possible for young people in Newark. His story inspires us all,” stated Roger León, superintendent of Newark schools. “We are incredibly proud of Angel, whose remarkable academic journey is a testament to our schools’ strength, our educators’ dedication, our supportive parents, and our students’ resilience.” Ortiz’s final decision must be made by April 30, coincidentally his 18^th birthday. He shared that he hopes to inspire other students. “Don’t feel pressure to do things simply to impress other people or other institutions,” he said. “If any high school student can take something from me, it’s to basically just be yourself. Don’t be like me. I’m a different person. Just be you and things will come eventually.”