After being accepted into 27 colleges, a Florida teen must make some major decisions.
Jonathan Walker, a Rutherford High School senior, applied to 27 colleges. All of them have accepted him, even some of the most prestigious in the country. In addition, he has received over $4 million in scholarship awards from all schools.
“It’s so crazy to think about, that I applied to all these colleges and I got in because that’s such a rare thing to occur. But the fact that it did happen, I’m so excited about it,” said the 18-year-old.
Jonathan stated that he took his time with the application stage.
“It’s really just like writing a set of essays for one college and then tweaking them specifically for the colleges,” he said.
Jonathan was admitted to Ivy League universities, such as Harvard, Yale, and Pennsylvania. He has less than a month to make his decision and is still trying to narrow down his options and visit a few more colleges.
“The whirlwind of like decisions coming back, that’s over now,” Jonathan said. “So I’ve just really been trying to soak it in just how much of a blessing that this is that I got into these colleges. So just like sitting back, smelling the roses.”
Jonathan is part of the International Baccalaureate Program. He completed college-level classes during his junior and final years of high school. After completing multiple assessments, the program gives students college credit.
Jonathan is driven to help others and wants to make a career out of creating medical devices that can be used in underprivileged communities. He’s right on track, as he’s already working on multiple patents.
The teen has created a braille system and an air filter to turn gases into oxygen. A pill dispenser is also used to track medications.
“Right now, I’m very interested in engineering and entrepreneurship,” Jonathan said. “I’ve always loved creating devices to help people so I definitely want to further that. I’m looking at majoring in electrical engineering and possibly biomedical engineering to hopefully develop medical technology in order to help disadvantaged communities that have health problems.”
He is also working with colleges in the creation of his own major. He plans on studying engineering, business, psychology, and computer sciences in the hopes of starting his own company.
“Jonathan has not been a typical student. He has continued to persevere despite all the challenges that we faced you know with the hurricane,” said Rutherford High School IB and AP Coordinator Cathy Rutland.
Jonathan loves learning and is also a keen sports fan. He is a Rams football player for the past four seasons and has a 4.85 GPA.
Jonathan’s advice to students applying to colleges is to put in the hard work and make sure they are passionate.
“Keep grinding no matter what,” he said.
This teen is sure to have a bright future, regardless of which college he chooses.
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