Very moving and inspiring. The dark side of Ivy admissions is illustrated in the information that was disclosed during the Asian admission lawsuit against Harvard. Over an 18 year period of available data, Asians had to earn an avg 767 of 800 on all sections of the SATs to be admitted vs 745 for whites, 718 for Hispanics, and 704 for Blacks. Each year, ~5% of Harvard admits were from the "Z List" - accurately representing their qualifications - wealthy and heavily legacy. This year, 30% of freshmen were children of Legacy's. Between Legacy, affirmative action admits (Black and Hispanic because there is a cap and higher requirement for Asians), the Z list (deferred admissions) and athletic admits, there are few remaining slots. Woe to those who are non legacy Whites or Asians in getting a fair shot of entry.
70
Wadzi plainly understands what the Statue of Liberty is intended to symbolize - and the meaning of the words of the Emma Lazarus verse prominently displayed on its base.
Perhaps Wadzi should sit down and have a talk with Donald Trump (grandson of a young, marginally literate, draft-dodging German immigrant), Stephen Miller (not-so-great-grandson of Belorussian Jewish peasants who fled waves of violent anti-Semitism) and Ken Cuccinelli (direct descendant of Italian peasants) and explain it to them.
253
@chambolle
Well said!
12
Thanks for this story about an undercurrent of goodness and success that thrives in spite of the current chaos president and his administration.
21
I would add opportunity to "goodness and success" and agree wholeheartedly!
7
The ongoing obsession with the Ivy League as the pinnacle of educational and social achievement continues...
49
On the contrary Frankie, your "resilient strivers" overcame the borders that stymie many brilliant kids from being accepted in the Ivy League and/or surviving the circumstances of where they live. Several whom I taught graduated from Hunter/CUNY and Rutgers with distinguished accomplishments being covered by the NYT from time to time. Nevertheless, a great article but this country suffers because more can't be done to deal help more whose fates are influenced way too much by "the borders.
11
Thank you for sharing this information.
Thank you for reminding us, during these difficult, human-created, conflicted times, that there are people all over the world, who choose to contribute to making a much needed difference.
Thank you for reminding us to “risk,” confronting challenges; individually as well as with others.
Thank you for reminding us that personal caring and accountability are more than just letters joined together, transmuted with effort into people joining together in mutual trust. Mutual respect. Mutual help, when needed.
Thank you for gifting us with an additional perspective in which barriers, whatever their dimensions, can be turned into viable, passable, inviting bridges for needed changes by making opportunities available and accessible.
15
Thank you to Mr. Bruni and the NYT for bringing us the breath of inspiration and hope that are Ms. Mano and Wadzi.
15
Positive change is a deliberate energy consuming enlightened choice.
There is a reason why the powerful now deny quality education and teacher pay to the “masses.”
Keep them stupid and sick. Then go shopping.
A thick book on the French Revolution discouraged reading to the end because the first chapter said after all was said and done, the same families were in power as before the uprising.
Vote Warren. She knows how failure has been fed. Read her bio. If Biden is needed she needs to be VP.
10
Some future cultural historian might draw on this article to demonstrate the subtle ways the empire justified and reproduced itself. It might in fact be interesting to quantitatively examine 'representation' in elite organs like the NYT and NPR in terms of social class. Yes, they 'give voice' to minorities, but what percentage of those voices come with the imprimatur of an Ivy League degree? I can't recall, on NPR for example, hearing a 'working class' person interviewed at length in the last 6 months of listening, that is unless they have pulled themselves up into the Ivy League and became 'real people'.
Worth reading Adolf Reed on these issues.
23
Great article. It made my morning after reading about the daily disgusting outrages of Trump.
11
Brilliance has no borders, but apparently it has an ivy league degree.
That take may be overly cynical, but if we keep equating brilliance to possessing a degree from a brand name school, we are limiting its numbers.
44
I really enjoyed this article, but what I never hear ever in the NYT is how some middle class person gets into Ivy League. I'm a transgender woman who grew up in rural Colorado and I got into MIT. Both my parents worked and I raised myself through high school because my Mom worked in Wyoming, my Dad worked in Denver, and I went to school in Boulder Colorado. I was bullied my whole life. My parents hated each other and didnt do anything to help me get into College. In fact, I still owe $130,000 of student loans that I took out for my own education.
Instead, as a young white male who hated myself because I knew I was transgender, I worked hard to get into MIT. I started my path in 5th grade and did everything that someone needs to do to get into MIT, especially as a white Male. I am an Eagle Scout, state debate champion, IB diploma holder, varsity soccer player, and I took the SAT/ACT three times with no special disability nonsense (once in 8th grade and twice in 11th grade) and ended up with a 1510 SAT and a 33 ACT.
I worked my entire childhood to get into MIT, yet most people think that places like MIT and Harvard are only for rich white people or oppressed people. No one ever talks about the middle class white kid who worked hard on their own to get into MIT with no scholarships and six figures of student loans. I wish someone would do an article on people like myself who didnt have mommy and daddy's help or had some amazing story of overcoming oppression.
56
Best, most inspiring article you've written all year, Mr. Bruni. Thank you.
5
Sure it's good that are schools attract the best and the brights from around the world. But it's a dirty little secret in academia that the push for diversity (we don't use the term affirmative action that much any more) has slowly but surely been extended to favoring people from other countries. These students are often counted by the school administration as part of the "diversity'" that schools seek. So...yes, America should be open and tolerant. But we should never favor those born in other countries over our own native citizens. It's a hard thing to say. But it's very true.
29
@david But it's not very true. When we educate people from around the globe, we broadcast our best values all around the globe. Yes, a lot of people seem to have momentarily forgotten the benefits of this, taking for granted the respect we have enjoyed (and are currently squandering), but they'll be reminded.
I love this column of Frank's and am deeply moved by the determination--the grit--of Ms. Mayiseni, Ms. Makurumidze and definitely Ms. Mano. All of these people will make a great difference.
And that's what is very true.
18
Clearly the best way we can support these kinds of efforts is to donate unsparingly to the Donald J. Trump Foundation.
I'm left comparing these stories to those of some of my own high school students who, earlier this week, when I asked them to label the equator, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, then to use an atlas to find a set of coordinates I gave them simply said to me, "That's too much, Mr., I'm done. That's too much for me to do in one day."
How do I inspire in them the motivation, need for cognition, curiosity, and desire to make for themselves and their families a better life that these students seem to have found in the midst of their adversity?
5
Sad....
First assign them to write down what they plan to do after completing high school.
Second, assign them to write down one or two aspects of education they think will help the prepare for life after high school.
Third, assign them to write down how the second assignment relates to the first.
Then have an open discussion.
7
Contrast this remarkable young woman with Ken Cuccinelli's recent, presumably figurative, witless remarks about only wanting immigrants who can "stand on their own two feet." Kudos to these strivers for all they are doing to make the world a better place.
12
Ivy League schools are increasingly looking for "unicorns" since they are inundated with bright, accomplished overachievers. Wonderful for these outstanding students in the article, but, not surprising that those schools are eager to enroll "interesting" candidates.
13
Thank you for sharing and researching this excellent story! It made my day! Good news and brilliantly written.
5
Maybe if we were not so biased toward the Ivy League and their corrupt legacy admissions, we might always get a truely more diverse and understanding elite and educated class. Studies show that Americans shower the top 50 schools with money and propects while slighting the other schools.
I am waiting for a Democratic candidate promise to appoint 2/3's of all appointments from non-Ivy leage schools.
21
@Nerka I attended a flagship state university for my undergraduate degree and an Ivy League university for my graduate degree. My father was a tradesman who was not academically capable of college-level work. I did well in the classroom at the Ivy League institution, but I could not overcome the social and economic class differences between me and my fellow students and all but one of my professors. There was simply no assistance available to help me bridge the gap, and I believe that I would have benefited more had I remained at my state university.
I am very happy for Ms. Wadzi, but I believe that the lack of social and economic class diversity deserves considerably more attention than it receives in many spheres of our society. Our current political divide may be a result of the failure of our institutions to address class divides as seriously as racial, ethnic and gender divisions.
22
This column reminds me so much of Malcolm Gladwell's "Outlier's." The stories of overcoming adversity are incredible.
The USAP students mentioned in this column also happen to be in the right place and time. I shudder at the thought of others who did not make it.
4
I didn't go to an Ivy League, but I never cared to apply there because I didn't need to. I went to a state school in Houston. I went there and got a great education. Why not write about state schools? what's with this obessession of yours and Americans with Ivy League. It's literally a club for rich kids who have access and money. Write about Americans who go to state schools for once?
34
@V This article is not about state versus Ivy league schools. It is about the support network that was put in place to help people who against staggering odds committed to themselves to getting the best educations possible. Plenty of state run schools offer opportunities to foreign students but statistically speaking those foreign students are from extremely privileged backgrounds and pay full freight.
9
@V this article isn’t about American kids. It’s about the achievements of kids who grow up under the type of extreme poverty even the poorest of Americans will never have to experience. Your “great education” apparently omitted basic things like reading comprehension and critical thinking.
10
This is a great story. Now we need to make it so that our own children can at least go to a two year stare schoo.
9
I would remind US American readers that in most of the rest of the world, the best universities are public, not private: Oxford, Cambridge, the Sorbonne, Heidelberg, McGill, etc. I've worked internationally for decades, and have found Ivy League people to be more pompous and pretentious, but certainly not smarter or more cultured. Most American Ivy League graduates don't even speak a foreign language.
36
I was not aware of this. Thank you for pointing it out.
1
So what? Speaking English is sufficient for many careers. Getting hung up on how many languages someone speaks is pretentious and elitist.
8
Some readers are taken aback by this article about an upper tier school. They seem to think it would be better to cover opportunities at a non-elite school. But that would be a different article. This article is interesting because it shows how very talented students can find their way into an elite school following a non-traditional path. A second article about the magnificent opportunities at schools like my former employer Montana State University would be interesting but a different topic really.
11
I'm a retired college professor, having taught for 35+ years. During that time the international students that I had were determined, hard-working, and respectful. We need more of them coming from Africa, the Middle-East, and South Asia. Their contributions are invaluable. Visa restrictions need to be eased.
12
This is yet another story about the best in human beings. It is evidence that the truth of achievement is found the world over and deserves to be reported in the public interest by the best news organizations. Do more of it. So often, the reporting is dominated by evidence of the worst in us, and it can mislead us and render us cynical in a world where people do overcome the odds and contribute impressively. My sense is that this story — #ourtopstory — is a much bigger and more important story than we realize. Excellent coverage of excellence is a stimulus.
10
Adding my sentiments to those who view pieces like this one as a welcome relief and source of hope amidst the suffering and chaos being unleashed by our president.
9
Another benefit of a program like this is the opportunity for students to meet and interact with people they probably never would otherwise. It's a great big world out there, and the inclusion of students from backgrounds that might be new and unfamiliar to others enhances the college experience for everyone, teachers included.
10
On a personal note Frank: I have been thinking about university for my kids since they were in grade school. I have all these wonderful works in book format, have been supportive of the Religion, Music, Economic and Athletic Departments--although athletics really wasn't our niche. And, the research involved... .
It has been a grueling process. I am worn out.
1
Not to downplay any of Wadzi's achievements, but please do not think the success of African or Caribbean immigrants is a sign that the achievement gap has closed. Black Americans of all origins face racial biases due to the color of their skin, but African and Caribbean immigrants have the privilege of an in-tact family structure, whereas descendants of black slaves had it forcibly ripped away for hundreds of years. Affirmative action programs meant to benefit the descendants of slaves are instead going to African and Caribbean immigrants.
The success of people like Wadzi--or other immigrants like Obama or Colin Powell--does not mean we can move on and pat ourselves on the back. It helps to have black faces in high places, but the battle for closing the achievement gap remains.
9
What about the impact of colonialism on family structures in African and Caribbean countries? Colonialism, in its historical and contemporary economic forms, certainly has not left family structures intact. Not a convincing explanation.
4
When you write “...or other immigrants like Obama and Colin Powell...” you are perpetuating the lie that Obama was not born in the United States.
Obama was born in Hawaii and Colin Powell was born in New York. They were NOT immigrants.
33
Thank you for your great, and timely written article Mr.Bruni. I trust the Cuccinellis on this side of the Atlantic happen upon, read and understand the beginning, middle and, especially, the end of something written today about the positive ramifications of extending one's self from the heart, going the distance, aspiration, hope and the prescience of (iconic) art.
2
In my work as an admissions counselor for non-traditional (typically adult) students, I have met incredible students from Africa. They’re smart, sure, but their defining characteristic is the determination to seize the opportunity to learn that life has granted them. I’m usually humbled after every encounter.
213
This article made me cry. I think this is an incredible story of how such institutions, which some perceive as being deeply problematic, give hope and change the lives of so many people. I get to count myself in that list as I’m a rising senior myself at one of these institutions from a country just south of Zim. I cannot begin to stress enough how we need to support people like Rebecca who are giving in a way where it can be sometimes hard to feel the impact. I look back myself to the people who got me here, and I can’t begin to imagine their own persistent belief that there was something in me deserving of investing their time (and even financial resources) to help me succeed. It takes a heart so big and so patient and I hope she sees this— thank you Rebecca.
210
The human spirit can triumph over adversity, but individuals need help. In this case, the help came from the family. This woman's mother should also be congratulated. I hope that the success written about here continues. All the best!
99
What inspiring stories! This is precisely why we need more immigrants, not fewer. We need them as role models for the rest of us.
At a time of so much discouraging news, this column is a real gift!
234
This column made me feel a lot better than all of the other content I encountered today. Thank you, Frank, and all my best wishes to the wonderful young people you wrote about.
5
The subject claims to want to go back to Zimbabwe and do pediatric oncology. The likelihood (not certainty) is that she will be one more pediatrician in the US treating for the most part the worried well and she will be living an upper middle class life. She will bring her extended family as well. We need to figure out how to improve the lives in places like Zimbabwe and a few Ivy League exceptions, while admirable, have not and will not solve the problem and might just divert our attention from the real issues of overpopulation, drought, religion etc.
9
@as
Well, we can't have it both ways. If she goes back to Zimbabwe, some will complain that she failed to make a contribution to American society. If she stays and practices here, why did we bother educating her if she's not going to "fix" Zimbabwe so we don't have to help them anymore.
So if you're going to write snottily that "The subject claims …" (implying you don't believe her), maybe instead just write what you really mean, which is that she should stay in her own country, or in Mr. Trump's words, go back where she came from.
11
Her achievements, her choice to do what she wants with her knowledge and skills.
9
@as If she does remain in the US, it will likely be in order to pay off her massive student debt from medical school. Not a chance of doing that if she goes back to Zimbabwe.
4
Some of the early comments seem to imply that this story is about elite institutions. Frankly, I don't see it that way at all. The story highlights the achievements of people with virtually no advantages making it to college and beyond. The mention of these elite institutions merely serves to convey the heights that can be reached when opportunity is presented.
375
@Andy
Your final sentence actually undermines your opening sentiments. The "heights" that these students have "reached" thus far is admission to the Ivy League, hardly a serious achievement unto itself, but celebrated here as such, which merely reinforces these schools' status as "elite."
10
@Portia. I attended a public school for undergrad and my master's, and an elite private school for my PhD. The elite private school was, educationally, miles above the public schools I went to. It's just true, and it had everything to do with the motivation and brilliance of the students who were there. And I don't just mean PhD students; I taught at a public school, and I taught as a PhD student at the elite private university, and while there were brilliant students at both, the elite private school students, as a group, were astoundingly intelligent and curious. Getting into these schools may not be an achievement for rich kids who parents pay their way in, but it is for all of the other students.
24
@Portia Elite schools are usually blessed with very elite endowments which can easily afford fully supporting a handful of impoverished students.
9
This is a very nice story. We are great and generous and responsive to heroic narratives of poverty and deprivation.We reward their suffering with coveted slots in our elite "meritocracy" where their contacts with the more mediocre rich will lead to future success.
At the same time we provide virtually no support for public institutions that would bring education and advancement within the reach of most kids in this country while we continue to enforce austerity on the developing world. But stories like this do make us feel good about ourselves.
10
We need a USAP program for the poorest American students who live in inner cities and in the Ozarks, Appalachia, trailer parks and the poorest counties in this country. I write this not to take away from the students described here but to emphasize that we have domestic students whose brilliance needs to be recognized and nurtured by similar programs.
29
@Red I could not agree with you more; well stated!
6
This is an inspiring and hopeful story! Yet, I want to call attention to similar problems we have in our own back yards. I recently read the book White Rage about how the U.S. Has decimated the educational opportunities and futures of African American U.S. children through segregation and discrimination. Virginia even even closed black schools and those students lost at least a year of education because of their race and white fears of integration.
How much talent have we lost because of this? It is truly possible in the 2 -3 generations of children of color who were denied education that we lost prominent scientists, gifted writers, etc.
As the ad in the 1970s said about students of color "a mind is a terrible thing to waste".
10
I heard Pete Buttigieg speak at a farm in Hancock, New Hampshire yesterday. The thing that impressed me most was that, in this white-bread community, the loudest applause came when Buttigieg called for an end to white nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment. He ended his talk encouraging us all to have hope.
Bruni's column, like the crowd's reaction to Buttigieg, gives me hope. It was the first thing I read today and, I am sure, will buoy up my spirit even if the news from the G7 Summit becomes embarrassingly cringe-worthy. There are good people in this world.
4
Fantastic and truly inspiring. However, what can we do for those African American students who suffer from violence and poverty here? Schools like that probably prefer a foreign student of color. They still count toward "diversity" but without having to address the cultural difficulties that often come with being Black in America.
16
Mr. Bruni's column brought this to mind:
https://www.azcentral.com/story/life/az-narratives/2014/07/17/phoenix-high-school-win-mit-resonates-decade-later/12777467/ describing:
"The story has been a feel-good one since it happened a decade ago: A ragtag team of high school kids from a poor part of west Phoenix beats out students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a robotics competition."
As the article explains, "Of the four, only one, Vazquez, has a job in an engineering-related field. Arcega is attempting to start his own consumer electronics business. Santillan has a catering business and a job at a restaurant. Aranda is a janitorial supervisor at the Maricopa County courthouses.
All four entered the country illegally as children. For three of the four, their legal status has been an obstacle to entering college or finding employment."
None of these kids was assisted in obtaining legal status in this country, when they were all clearly extremely bright young men who could have done well at any top school.
Now, I'm all for the USAP program. And my comment is not "sour grapes" about the Ivies. My child went to the Ivies for undergrad and grad school. We are a middle class family, and she didn't get any "legacy" bump.
All this said, I am hoping educators in this country would take a good, long look at very bright young kids like those kids who went to a barrio high school, and beat MIT in a robotics contest. These kids deserve the same chance.
17
This is America's birthright. The ability to be inclusive; to pull the best angels of human nature out of dire circumstances and allow them the opportunity to shine. This is why America exists and has risen to such prominence in the eyes of average humanity.
We need to return to this birthright. A transactional, self-serving, demeanor has dominated our character of late. It is selfish, self-centered, and is decidedly un-American in its complete absence of soul. It does not serve our future well.
Rebecca's Mano's way evinces the character of that certain Lady standing in New York City's harbor, and reminds us that we should revert to that which we are meant to do, help others in their time of need.
John~
American Net'Zen
2
At a time when I am personally striving for an opportunity to pursue higher education in the US, the story of Wadzi is a gleam of hope. In a world divided with deceit and slanders, education could be the melting pot of everything good(!)
6
There are great people everywhere ... But. let's not defend Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe caused it's own problems ... I get that this is a feel good story -- and we need those. But -- what's really occurring?
Brain drain .... the natural progression is the continued exodus of the best and the brightest from the very spots in the world that need that talent. Particular pathways out create an "ecosystem" crowding out others .... do we really think admission officials look past the one established pathway ... they don't.
Students always say they want to go home .. they don't. That's the reality ... the answer is more cross country co-operation . That's hard and doesn't get you an article in the NYT .. but it strengthens the education system in the place that needs it. The USA schools get fell good diversity .... the host loses the talent.
Where do schools do cross eduction -- China! A place that does not need it -- but it's a perceived benefit to USA students.
What to do .. ?
6
Because of shifting demographics, public universities throughout the US struggle with enrolment. Would it not make more sense for talented African students to attend those universities rather than the Harvard's, Yale's and MIT's?
Whenever Bruni or other columnists talk of universities in the US, it always centers on the Ivy League or equivalents. It is damaging and laughable. Laughable because both W and The Donald have degrees from them. Damaging because public universities are under the budgetary knife.
12
Will they be required to help in their home country? Raising talented kids is great, but brain drain is a real problem.
4
Would this story still be newsworthy if she didn't attend an Ivy League School? There are thousands of other institutions of higher education that could provide a great education,too.
8
I've been reading your columns for years and I always enjoy them. This one made me weep big fat tears at the breakfast table. The part at the end about the statue of liberty really got me. If only we could move closer to the ideals that make us who we are instead of farther away. Just like a little girl with big dreams in Africa, this country has so much potential to be greater. We need articles like this to remind us of that. Bravo!
1
Great story. The most inspiring part is her quote: ‘you’re not defined by the things that hold you back. You’re defined by how you rise above them’.
I hope all the whiners that want to shame people for some perceived slight read and remember this quote. As someone who grew up in a disadvantaged neighborhood, attended a marginal high school and college, I can personally vow how empowering it is to let this simple phrase empower you.
3
Their home countries and the world in general if they took three times as many kids and sent them to Engineering program at State Universities - all of which are uniformly excellent and of infinitely greater utility.
ERTW.
3
Cameroon is a country you don't hear about often, but I am the cofounder of Open Dreams, the Cameroon equivalence of USAP.
I grew up in a small, remote village in a house without water or electricity and used a bush lamp to study textbooks that I borrowed from my classmates.
I used a computer for the first time after graduating from high school, and was determined to get a scholarship to study in the US, writing my essays at cybercafes and emailing them to myself.
After two years of hard work and some serendipity, I got a full ride and ended up at Washington and Lee. Then worked at Goldman Sachs. Became a Schwarzman Scholar, and now I am attending Harvard Business School.
Open Dreams, cofounded 5 years ago and operating on a lean budget of $20,000 per year, has helped more than 60 Cameroonians to get full scholarships in the US, Canada, UK, Italy, South Africa, Turkey, Lebanon, Russia and many other African countries.
I leaned on so many others to achieve modest success, and it is incumbent on my to pay it forward. I remain forever grateful to this great nation, the United States (despite the challenges it faces, despite the attempts to rewrite what Lady Liberty stands for), for making all this possible. In no other country would my story have been possible.
www.open-dreams.org
9
Thanks to 18 years as a Red Cross volunteer here in Linköping, Sweden, I have had the good fortune to know young women like those described here, people born in the countries that the President looks down on.
And, thanks to the fact that I read the New Yorker magazine, I had the bad fortune to read about a highly educated American woman seen as white and self declared as Jewish.
Why bad fortune? This woman, Amy Wax illustrates that when it comes to having a racist view of people born in countries other than the USA and northern Europe, there also are no borders.
Amy Wax, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, was interviewed by Isaac Chotiner, who wanted to find out why such a highly educated woman could hold the views she expresses so directly.
The nature of those views is indicated by the title under which the interview appears:
A Penn Law Professor Wants to Make America White Again
Read this and you will learn that “In 2017, Wax said...'I don’t think I’ve ever seen a black student graduate in the top quarter of the class, and rarely, rarely, in the top half'.”
Chotiner summarized his findings with these words: "Wax expounded on her beliefs that people of Western origin are more scrupulous, empirical, and orderly than people of non-Western origin, and that women are less intellectual than men. She described these views as the outcome of rigorous and realistic thinking."
No wonder we have Trump.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
2
Anyone who hires understands that now Ivy Schools no longer represent the smartest applicants.
It is more just a collection of kids who had the best “hooks”
Admissions to these schools is a complete mess at this point. And you need to sort through all the candidates to figure out if they are real smart or hook smart.
8
I don't see a foreigner taking a seat at an elite American university, a seat that could be filled by a poor, brilliant, deserving American citizen, a thing to be celebrated.
8
So very expensive, brand name schools in the US pick out a few promising and photogenically disadvantaged students from around the world to show “Hey, aren’t we great? We aren’t just expensive finishing schools for the wealthy and well connected! We care!”
Sure. Comcast cares too.
The reality is that the chattering class fawns absurdly over big name schools.
Let’s face facts- Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, George W. Bush, and other non-stellar intellects have Ivy League degrees. Perhaps its appropriate that ivy is green. It seems like having a lot of green is the quality most revered in Ivy League students.
What about the students from Zimbabwe who go to SUNY? Or CUNY? Or U Mass? Or Michigan State? Are those schools not worthy of note? If not, why not? We are paying for them... they should be among the best in the world.
Please stop buying into the Ivy branding and please start looking at higher education more broadly. Celebrity worship in a serious publication is embarrassing, whether it is worship of Harvard or a random Kardashian.
12
To learn about the difficulties students from a similar program in Nepal face, check out this Chronicle of Higher Education article: A Long Lonely Path
https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/long-lonely-path
In Nepal, the US Dept of State's EducationUSA program funds a program that helps Nepal's top-achieving students from impoverished backgrounds apply to US universities. Many get accepted with full rides to places like Harvard, Williams, Howard, and lots of other great universities. These are talented Nepali students who have overcome poverty, civil war, earthquakes and other natural disasters who are pushing themselves to see how far they can go. Unfortunately, not enough places offer enough scholarships. We could increase our program if we could find more scholarships.
Perfect examples of the immigrants that made this country and will make it great again. What we know is this: white, wealthy immigrants bring nothing but disease, entitlement, and colonial mentalities to a country.
2
Somehow, amazingly, I clicked on this story first this morning. Inspired by this story, I am not going to ruin the rest of my day by reading real news.
2
Finally, a good-news opinion column, in contrast to the daily barrage of columns about the uneducated fool currently calling himself the president of the country and the messiah.
1
I appreciated your upbeat, encouraging essay until I was blind-sided by your anti-Trump remark. It seems like every NYT journalist is compelled to turn each essay into an anti-Trump tome. I am sure you will collect a host of " Comments" in your support as well. The President saved Muslim children from nerve gas with a remarkable precision Syrian missile strike. He dearly loves his Jewish grandchildren. The only Republican opponent in his Presidential race on his cabinet is someone much like these young adults in the article, Ben Carson. You must have noticed that all the one- sided efforts at the NYT bore little fruit in the 2016 Presidential election. People are complicated Mr. Bruni. Simplistic stereotyping I thought was something you objected to. I am sure there are things you have said in an angry moment you don't believe and you regret.
3
@Curiouser
I'm afraid, Curiouser, the president has done this to himself. Surely you're aware of the vile epithets Trump has uttered for countries like Zimbabwe. I think probably immigrants from those countries felt a bit "blind-sided" when he said it.
Then there's Trump telling four US Congresswomen who happen to not be lily-white that they should "go back where they came from."
Don't shoot the messenger. Bruni didn't curse Africa, Donald Trump did. Bruni didn't tell immigrants to go home (or even non-white people whom he believes, in his colossal ignorance, to be immigrants even when they're not). Trump did.
Sorry but when we read about immigrants, we're gonna be reminded of these recent conscience-searing events, and of our president's viciousness. I don't think you were "blind-sided"; that's disingenuous.
4
When I read the last four paragraphs tears welled up in my eyes. Wadzi represents the hope for this country and hers. I wish Trump and the Republicans would read this article to gain a better understanding of America.
116
@Francis DeVine. Its a lovely story, but They don't read...at least 45 doesn’t.
20
Thank you for sharing the stories of such inspiring individuals. These days, news ranges from the ridiculous to the horrifying. It is important to remember that there are good people quietly doing amazing work.
4
There is no question that the economy in Zimbabwe now is in poor shape with high inflation and poor job prospects and that it has been in this condition for the past 10-15 years. What is not clear in this article is that the Zimbabwean education system from Standard 1 through the university was the envy of sub-Saharan Africa. Nor is it clear the steps that Zimbabwe's citizens have taken to maintain access to quality education under very difficult conditions. The reason why the ASAP program has flourished in Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe's strong commitment to education. We need to not only ensure that talented students gain access to good education, through both African and American universities, but that the universities in countries like Zimbabwe have resources to educate their own citizens.The costs of one scholarship in the US can educate up to 100 students in African institutions. Although African successes too rarely make headlines, the quality of African institutions has improved markedly in the past 20 years.
8
Doctors without borders, the Gates Foundation, etc., etc., etc. I sincerely hope they find a way to retain students that you have invested your life into. You think, "Reality is more complicated." Really? Some people can livestream, while others can tune into their local FM stations. It's all a state of mind. Be grateful for what you have and Western Americans are relatively better off than their parents were whether they know it or not.
Sounds familiar, Frank. The pool just seems so stagnate. And, I am very family centered or focused, which is okay. The World is a big place. It's finding that right balance for an individual--and I am not speaking of the "Goldilock Effect."
It is difficult to find a supportive group of working adults that want to invest in the work life balance. I think, speaking for myself, makes all the difference.
Why extend these benefits to those not US Citizens? Look beyond “America First”. These gifted young people will hopefully return to their struggling and turbulent home countries to provide hope, innovation, democratic ideals which may in the end squash the embers of yet another potential hot spot on this earth filled with unstable conditions.
6
@Kim Ruth Because non-U.S. students deserve a good education as well.
We are white middle class and amongst the less financially advantaged in our town. We used the libraries and museums to enhance the education of our children. Our son and daughter both attended Ivy league colleges based on merit. They were given grants so it was affordable for us. So grateful that they have the endowments to do this for us and for more financially disadvantaged students throughout the world.
7
Wadzi’s comments on the Statue of Liberty moved me deeply, especially when one considers them in juxtaposition to the ghastly comments made by Ken Cuccinelli earlier this month. I think she got it right.
Lovely, lovely column. Thank you. Wadzi and the other USAP students are remarkable and I wish them much success.
382
This is the image we should be projecting to the world: encouraging and supporting good education in poorer home countries, making US education and expertise available to all students, recognizing the drive to make the most of opportunities afforded to those who otherwise would have no options, encouraging these students to return home and share their educational gifts, and most of all recognizing potential in every place and among persons of every background.
I don’t call these students remarkable because it suggests that only a select few can do what they have done. Certainly, not every child can go to Columbia. Nevertheless, these young people are the tip of the international iceberg of talent that too often is flooded by poverty, ill-health, and deprivation. There are too many young people in our own country whose potential similarly is frozen below the surface.
In a time when children and their needs are under assault by our government, stories like this bring hope and remind us that we can still do something positive. That these activities are the true exemplars of what we want our nation to be: a builder not a cruel and arbitrary disrupter.
153
It's a lovely profile of an extraordinary woman, but it's nothing new. I went to college in the late 1980s and there were many, many stories like Wadzanay's. Top universities, including the Ivy's, have sought strivers with from across the U.S. and world with interesting, diverse stories, for decades. Programs to help may come and go, but it's been a core mission of higher ed since affirmative action programs started in the '60s. And, by the way, it's also a core mission of most affluent parents to find ways to get their kid in a top university by any means possible. Unethical parenting is hardly a recent phenomenon, either.
4
I have a question. How many of these wonderful students returned to their home countries after completing their education? I am concerned that too many students who are offered such opportunities in America are sorely tempted to remain here and have the good life. I hope that these people at least try to help others from their countries of birth to have a similar educational opportunity in the future.
14
@Robert Lacks -It's a third world brain drain in the name of diversity. Many are recruited after graduation by companies and firms to help show diversity. In the meantime these countries lose their best and brightest, those who could make a difference like physicians, so some company can claim diversity for sake of diversity.
2
@Robert Lacks I understand your concern. But if these wonderful students get good jobs in the U.S., and send money back to their country of origin to help relatives and friends, that benefits their birth countries too.
As a US-based 'meritocracy' kid (child of factory workers) who got the chance to attend Columbia, I'm glad to see my alma mater making space for strivers from around the world. The Ivies and elite schools here have plenty of problematic elements, but they are also transformative experiences for those of us who didn't start out in families at the top.
449
@Trixy
Thank you, people just do not realize the amount of financial aid given out by these top universities and how much they actively seek out those less fortunate who could flourish at their schools. Yes, top, they are extraordinary institutions that we as Americans should be proud of; we still do higher education quite well. Perfect, no, but truly extraordinary and worthy of praise and worthy of people the world over seeking admission (and a beautiful generous full ride). Wadzi is extraordinary and how wonderful she ended up in NYC, near the Statue of Liberty, another extraordinary lady. I am proud of them both, they symbolize America at her very best.
39
I chose this article because it gives us a perceptive of life beyond Long Island. This story about a girl from Zimbabwe really inspired. Wadzi was born in Zimbabwe and developed bone cancer when she was young. This did not stop her from pursuing her dreams. Wadzi had a bumpy life growing up but this did not stop here from attending college. She now attends, one of the top schools in the country, Columbia University. This story opens up my perspective to another level. More often than not children of wealthy parents often attend good schools and start their life with ahead start. Wadzi started behind everyone else, she grew up in a poor country with little opportunity but turned into something special. This story is one that I won't forget as a student heading to college soon.
149
@Jake Cohen
If you only read one, this was a good story to choose to read. Good luck at college in your reading choices.
19
@Jake Cohen
A few decades ago, I was also a kid from Long Island who had little sense of the rest of the world. What I knew came from watching my immigrant parents work long backbreaking hours in a restaurant. I worked hard and studied hard and was determined to make it to a very good university. That has made a tremendous difference in my life and my family’s life. But the older and wiser I get, the more I realize that I was really lucky. There were plenty of kids who were smart, who worked hard, who were more determined than me. I’m just one of the ones who got lucky. So please work and study as hard as you can, and when you achieve something, be humble, and do what you can to help those who had it tougher. When you receive a blessing from God, you share it; and the blessing becomes all the greater.
Good luck Jake
65
@Jake Cohen
Best wishes, Jake. No matter where you attend College or your Major, the most important thing to do is Read this publication every day. Stay informed, know what is happening and develop your own opinions. It’s the basis for informed citizenship.
34
There is an impressive volume of charitable giving behind these stories, driven by wealthy donors - usually alums - who don’t get noticed as much as the Lori Laughlins (USC bribery scandal) or Charles Kushners (who seems to have paved the way at Harvard for young Jared.) It can be morally gratifying to imagine all the rich people in America being like Scrooge McDuck, but it isn’t so
4
@RobtLaip,
The real problem is not rich folks trying to grease the admissions wheels for their kids; the real problem is that elite university admissions are used as profit centers, encouraging the Kushners, the Loughlins, and hosts of other parents to both legally and illegally attempt to influence admissions decisions with money.
5
These kids are an inspiration but it’s sad there aren’t any Caucasian students from the poor pockets of America.
Many of the students Bruni featured are less qualified than Americans who were passed over due to the unfairness of affirmative action.
12
@Mark
Not so, Mark. I'm a middle-class white who attended an elite woman's college on full scholarship. A good percentage of the other free-ride students in my class (graduated in 2000) were also Americans. I'm still in touch with several of these women, and they're roaring along with their professions and contributions to society. Our alumnae magazine tracks our sisters from around the world -- every one of them, too, still on the fast track.
8
@Mark
Affirmative action is meant for minorities, who could not even get mortgages, because of unfair policies
by white men. The trouble with American culture is
most people only look at one generation. We all have to pay for the sins of our white fathers. Tell me where the white wealthy are to help the Caucasion poor! There are tons of them out there who could create scholership programs.
2
@Mark
Slavery wasn't fair either, was it? And were all the years of second-class citizenship and "whites only" businesses and bathrooms fair? The "affirmative" in "affirmative action" is a very small token in comparison to the negative actions that have resulted from the notion that only white (and usually WASP) Americans deserve opportunities and open doors.
3
I can guarantee you that zero percent of these students are going to go back to Zimbabwe once they become doctors and lawyers in the United States.
USA is pretty good at stealing away the world's talent, which countries like Zimbabwe lose all their talented people who have the ability to turn that country around.
8
@Diana . . . really??? Maybe these students will send money back to family and friends, once they get a well-paying job! I've worked with many who do so.
Thanks. I needed that.
2
So many Alexander Hamiltons.
“You’re not defined by the things that hold you back,” she told me. “You’re defined by how you rise above them.” Let’s have more stories with that theme.
7
NYT, Now thats an article to write, publish and read!! You follow all of us commenters on what we read, and where we travel on your pages, and probable have AI read out comments to direct your journalists on what to write about. .... SO read this....... this article should be above the fold on the headlines of this week's sunday paper, not where it is!!!
The meaning to being an human being giving an creating HOPE and PROMISE while helping those throughout the world revealed in this story, and Ms. Mano in particular, should be your headline everyday. Stop writing so many articles about DJT for your ecochamber!! We all get the picture about him. Those who get it, got it; those who don't by now..... won't ever!! Lets have more stories about the true meaning of being a human who brings the true meaning of life to this world. Please!!!
4
Beautiful story. Great antidote for the nastiness that Dear Leader has spewed about immigrants.
2
Thank you, just thank you.
2
This is the BEST!!!! Thank you Frank Bruni.
1
One aspect of these programs that I am quite familiar with causes me a lot of concern. In the country where I lived for many years, the admission process to both EU and USA programs was corrupt and rife with nepotism. The interviews and decisions were made mainly by natives, who ensured that their relatives and friends were admitted, while highly motivated, well-qualified kids applied again and again, and were repeatedly rejected in favor of kids who did not speak English (a basic requirement for all the programs), had middling to poor grades, and won out on the strength of their family's connections. I don't think this is unusual and it's something that really needs attention to make sure the best, most-qualified, most-motivated kids have an equal shot at admission.
11
I have a motto. "We are all going to die some day so we might as well live up to it."
Wadzi is doing just that.
1
This story is the kind of stuff that undercuts all the jive and nonsense headlines and junk thinking that prevents us from building an even more beautiful country. Thanks, Mr Bruni.
3
Where you go, is not who you’ll be? such consistent lying. Ivy League institutions serve private purposes. The New York Times is obsessed with them. So much for the war on privilege.
11
@Me
I agree that many of our fine state schools deserve praises well. It is not all
about the Ivies.
from a middle class state school kid who became an Ivy professor
Nonetheless, this is a lovely article.
2
@Me
There's a war on privilege? Why? Why don't we just use our brains to move up alongside of them?
I hope if Trump reads just one article in the New York Times today, it's this one.
1
@NAS
he doesn't read and he would not understand this article, nor care
1
Thanks for this wonderful article of high human achievement against titanic odds, Frank. It reminds me of the true story of Congo residents who, with extreme peservence, studied music, in some instances made their own stringed instruments, formed an orchestra, and eventually gave a performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony complete with chorus.
8
Is this so surprising? None of my ancestors attended college (although my mother emphasized to me that I should not drop out of high school). I grew up on an apple orchard, where I learned not to shy away from hard work. This lesson served me well when when I entered graduate school at Cornell University in June 1979. I earned my Ph.D. in theoretical physics in September 1983, years ahead of most of those who entered with me.
4
Thank you for this wonderful article focusing a lens on young men and women and adults who are, in small ways, making our lives more decent, more aware, and certainly more knowledgeable. Such a welcome break from institutional bodies and their representatives who are unable to deliver the same services to our nation. I would add, not sure Jeff Bezos or others at his rarified income level read the NYT, but, what these mega billionaires earn in a week could fully fund the organizations named in this article.
16
Beautiful and inspirational piece. Thank you. It is great that Ms. Mayiseni and others are able to pursue their studies at selective private institutions. However, the Ivy League is not the only place where such stories occur.
As the Fall semester begins at the senior and community colleges at the City University of New York, many brilliant strivers from around the globe will continue their journey to lift themselves up through their studies and in the process improve the future for their families. their home communities, and their classmates.
18
@KS
Yes! Dutchess Community College got me started. Mount Holyoke spotted me and offered a full scholarship; kept me working hard until I graduated, magna cum laude, with two majors. Thanks, professors!
2
Frank, thank you for a wonderful story.
Not to divert attention from your story, I would merely note that many kids simply drop out from the conventional educational path.
Another of the miracles education in America is the offering of second or third chances of a rigorous university experience later in life.
These are the adults who have had an educational "epiphany", adults who return to degree programs in mid-life.
There are many moving stories to be told here too.
As a former, rather demanding, teacher of returning adults, I am still impressed by, and thankful for, all of my 600 students at the DePaul University of Chicago, School for New Learning.
God bless you all.
12
Thank you for this wonderful and inspiring story. I rejoice thinking of these outstanding students returning home so well prepared to help their country. I cannot think of any better thing that a rich country could possibly do for a poor country.
9
This is a fantastic story of one student's perseverance, but we also must recognize that the shift we are seeing is also American universities realizing that the easiest path to reaching their diversity goals is to recruit outside the US for talent. Again, this is something I personally favor as a libertarian that believes in one world not a bunch of tribes and nation-states formed by past despots. That said, every top university is under tremendous (mostly internal) pressure to get the right demographics.
As an example, my children attend a pubic school outside Miami last year that had more than 30 kids offered by Purdue, same for Michigan, and same for the Ivy League as a whole. Why this intense interest on a school next to the everglades (recruiters visit 2-3 times a year from the country's top universities) because it is home to the Latino business and technology wealthy and their kids light up the testing score board. I worry that our nation's best universities will increasingly take in minority kids whose parents are in the 1% or the off-the-chart kids from abroad.
9
Wadzi and these other students deserve their chances, they have the brains and more importantly the character.
I suspect that the great opportunity they have is given so that they might serve as exotic specimens of cultural difference and economic deprivation for the other, overwhelmingly wealthy and privileged Ivy students to learn from and assuage their own privilege.
Remember, there are more Ivy students from the top 1% of U.S. family income than from the bottom 50%.
8
@Thomas
What are the IQ's of students from the top 1% and from the bottom 50%. Without this information, we can't judge who deserves what chance.
1
@Thomas "..the great opportunity they have is given so that they might serve as exotic specimens of cultural difference.." You are implying that the purpose of Ms. Mano and the other involved people is to provide "exotic specimens" for the amusement of the 1%. You are way off base.
2
WOW!
Despite all the ills and evils loose in this world, these stories are truly inspiring.
17
A great reminder that adversity does not build character. It reveals it.
24
The real grit in this story is that of Rebecca Mano. The article kind of glosses over what it takes to get the attention of American institutions with respect to helping extremely talented kids get an education. I worked at a university in Cambodia for several years recently, and I told several of the scholarship students there that their accomplishments on the national entrance examinations put them above the average Harvard enrollee, and in league with the odds of joining Goldman Sachs. Still, the American universities we approached for a dual degree program insisted that these top achievers pay full rack rates. 'We have to subsidize the in-state students, you understand.' Fortunately, our university did have a local benefactor, and the motivated Cambodian kids got their American university experience despite the high tuition. We had hoped the graduates would apply their considerable energies and insights toward furthering the development of a war torn country. They have not disappointed; yet many young Cambodians never got the opportunity for an American education, despite their considerable talents. Could we clone Rebecca Mano?
37
It is very important that this type of program does not devolve into an unintended method to drain the academic talented out of Zimbabwe and deposit them permanently into the USA and other high-income countries. These very poor countries need to conserve all the homegrown talent that they can find.
38
@Peter Johnson
Needed more than USAP programs, largely underwritten by Americans and government, are more African colleges, universities and training centers IN the African countries. As admirable as the exceptionally intelligent poor foreign student may be, his talents are lost nearly always when he or she enters the developed countries supposedly to acquire professional credentials and return to the student’s native country. For nearly all of the expat upon graduation request work, either for extended graduate school education, or for V1-B work visas for lucrative jobs in the U.S., not their home country to work there for meager wages. Most of the post-grads try to remain in the U.S.A or Canada, to work or get grants, and repatriate their income back home, indefinitely, to support extended families there, or they apply for permanent residence here.
Africa desperately needs its talented and creative work force there, not here, in another exploitation by the developed countries of Africa’s most important natural resource. Create annexes of Ivy League schools in Africa, instead, not import that precious human resource, as so many of our elite universities have done in the wealthy Persian Gulf states, where it was clear why our elite schools were there, not importing their students here.
29
This one makes my day, thank you for this simply wonderful story about a precious and courageous young woman. Perhaps Mr. Trump should read this and learn something about those people and countries he so readily and shamelessly disparages.
29
@Horseshoe Crab, he readily admitted that he doesn't like to read.
1
@Horseshoe Crab
It's better to keep Trump unaware; as he would be unless someone read a precis of the story to him. So that he won't decide to close our borders to foreign students, too.
How inspirational and uplifting. Thank you.
I can see a segment of Trump's supporters also feeling that way. But I can also see a large segment saying, where is this program for disadvantaged kids from within the US? (And not necessarily black/latino kids.) What is in this for the USofA?
To them I say, programs like this: 1. Help the US project it's soft power by demonstrating its ideals and values and the quality of its institutions (educational, research, political etc). 2. Bring young talented people into the country .. who inject a vigor and new ideas into the country. 3. Significantly enhance the experience and horizons of local students/communities.
Programs like this Make America Great.
15
@AP917
And to the segment asking about the program for disadvantaged kids from the U.S. I'd tell them: Public libraries. Free places with lots of good books where you can learn what you need to get ahead. No kid turned away.
All the very, very best(est) to these bright little sparks that have thrived despite the darkness of their circumstances [many hugs]. But also a request, do try to pull up at least one more person like yourself ... even talking to people back home and just telling them of possibilities can be so very helpful. Many people simply don't know that there are alternatives. All my best wishes once again.
8
Process of being admitted to an Ivy League school?
Seems not at all clear; conceptual, theoretical, strategic gibberish which is odd when we consider this is elite education. But then again heaven often seems to hide behind a cloud so perhaps I should not judge. But if I'm not hearing that the admission process is connected to wealth I'm hearing to get in one must be a "resilient striver of brilliance" or some such muck, and the overall impression I receive frankly is a system of eugenics: Ivy League a combination of exceptional people and the children/descendants of people who rose to prominence in the past, who were "resilient strivers" worthy of elite education or recognition by the system.
Reminds me of the current knighthood of England somewhat, old bloodline combined with newly knighted people who have demonstrated notable accomplishment, and of course fit into the system, won't have the indelicacy to actually examine the system and open their mouth. But it's hard to see being elite anything other than either being a resilient striver yourself or having wealth already by which you can have merit "attached" to yourself not to mention acquire a notable husband or wife.
The good news is this process seems more advanced over aristocracy/oligarchy of the past, beyond racial, religious, etc. matters, likely to make a mixed race Pushkin not so odd a matter, but how does this square with political/economic ideals, that nurture triumphs over nature, that biology is not all?
8
@Daniel12
There is nothing wrong with a school that accepts "exceptional people" before it accepts low or middling achievers. I wanted to be among students who strove and were resilient; I wouldn't have flourished among the low or middling.
1
I have a lot of respect and admiration for these young women (and men). However, I hope they will eventually return to their native country instead of remaining in the US (or Europe). They should take their knowledge and courage back home and do good work there. Let's not support "Brain Drain".
20
@Helga, you missed the point
1
@Helga
America has always benefitted from brain drain. In the 20th Century, many came from your country to escape discrimination and in many cases extermination.
Where I live, Miami has benefitted from perhaps the greatest one in history when most Cuban intellectuals and professionals fled a totalitarian dictatorship.
I hope that these people check out the land of opportunmity that still exists here.
1
@Helga
How would you achieve not supporting brain drain? How would you force them to return to their countries? (And make sure they don't sneak into any other outside of the U.S.?)
For another truly uplifting story, read “Becoming” by Michelle Obama. She tells her remarkable story of rising to excellence in working class, south Chicago and the work she did, both before and while serving as First Lady, to raise the sights and opportunities for young women of color here and abroad. A much needed reminder of the dedication, decency and dignity of our former FLOTUS and an antidote to the current news cycle.
49
@Linda
Sorry to rain on your parade, but Michelle would never have written "Becoming" had she not married Barack.
Michelle hails from a very stable working-class household, like many other achievers, but she has not distinguished herself intellectually or in any other way except by being the first black First Lady.
Oprah Winfrey and other black women like Toni Morrison and Viola Davis are far more talented.
3
Wow! Thank you, Frank Bruni for sharing this beautiful story. It reminds me of what is good about America. Somehow we will get through the current horror of Donald Trump and will continue to be the country that produces people like Rebecca Zeigler Mano and provides the welcome and hope represented in the Statue of Liberty.
28
Very inspiring story. There is always a but. There are thousands of brilliant kids in the U.S and the world who don’t have cancer, drug-addicted mother or father, broken homes, etc. They can’t tell a story. But their aspirations are trampled by these schools with excessive fees and limited seats. The number of admits has remained the same for decades despite the population and students seeking admission has doubled in the last two decades. Now, state schools have to add more students with less resources. Inequities are rampant because these Ivy schools sitting on tens of billions of endowment impact state schools from competing for talent. State schools can’t give out full scholarships. Can’t compete for excellent faculty and pay for expensive setup. These Ivy schools have created a mess across the world with insane tuition signaling high cost is better education. Anyone wants to write about it?
59
@Dave
I don't understand what exactly @Dave is complaining about. On the one hand he seems to be saying that Ivy League schools are poaching talented students from state schools, to the detriment of the latter. On the other hand he's complaining that talented students can't attend Ivy League schools because of "limited seats" and "insane tuition." But if this were true it would seem to redound to state schools' benefit. In fact, very few students accepted to one of the Ivies is expected to pay the sticker price for tuition. At Princeton, for example (according to its website), students whose gross family income is less than $65,000 pay nothing for tuition, room, and board, and tuition is free for students with a gross family income up to $160,000. The financial aid policies at the other Ivies are similar.
2
Dave,
Mr. Bruni has a terrific book about that topic: Where You Go is Not Who You’ll Be.
2
@William Wroblicka - you don’t understand because you don’t want to see the reality of high tuition and enormous endowment. They subsidies because of endowments but states schools can’t have. Their professors hardly teach much so if state schools want to get talent they can’t. Labs and research support from NSF/NIH is based on high tuition included in the grants. Because state schools have lower tuition even grants are smaller. I can go on and on. Open your mind than just one side.
3
A great article and contribution to human capacity. My hubby spent more than 20 years in East Africa. He worked in partnership with the National Programs. In so doing he mentored young leaders and through them made his impact in agricultural development.
6
Just when I needed some good news, this article appeared. Thank you and thanks to all the people who make this program possible!
28
I can speak for Stanford., at least on a fairly recent basis.... Over 20% of each class enrolled has no family members who have ever attended college. Stanford DELIGHTS in finding the fruit that has never been touched.
And despite what outside people want you to believe, it is almost impossible to "buy" yourself in via your parents. I know this for a fact as my husband and I have a combined 40 yrs in fundraising at Stanford. Indeed, as fundraising employees we were even given messages and ask to role play when a parent approached us about buying their child's admission. One more wonderful aspect about Stanford that is not advertised: If you want to go into Education or Law, and are willing to commit to 5 yrs of public service after graduation, chances are you will get a free ride or close to a free ride....
which leads me to my last point. For students who have families which make a total of less than 100k, room, board and tuition are free. For those who make less than $125k, tuition is free.
33
@Dolly Patterson, I have to share this story. A well-known Latino politician, one I still admire, held a neighborhood meeting I attended some years ago. At some point, he talked about his daughter, who had just been admitted to Stanford. He went to Stanford. He was an important Californian legislator. His daughter was Latina. Yet, he bragged, she got in "100% on her own." The entire audience burst into laughter. As well they should; who is he kidding? He's a good guy, and does a good job, but most people are really blind when it comes to their offspring.
9
@Sara
Wow. An entire audience full of nincompoops! Latinos all over the country are getting into college on their own. Really, they are -- and have been doing so for decades.
3
One additional benefit of these programs and the wonderfully motivated kids who succeed in them is that they are America's foremost ambassadors when they return to their home countries. I saw this countless times teaching Korean and Chinese students at a large midwestern state university.
22
@lhc
I agree. This is but one small, but important, component in the United States' global diplomacy strategy. Trump would not approve of this because, in his feeble mind, this would be a waste of US assets. Thanks for a positive article in a time of great pain for America.
12
Wow what a great story about the grit and talent that can be found among the most disadvantaged youth in Africa. What a contrast to our spoiled upper class Americans complaining about the slightest discomfort or social slight on media. I thought it was rough going to college at night while working full time I was lucky my company paid my tuition . Adversity builds character and I offer Trump as example one and the students you described as proof of theory.
14
Very Good News! Terrific News!
Such resources were never available in any country 65 years ago, but NYC had the City Colleges and I attended the flagship, which I was lucky enough to be provisionally accepted into, but struggled because I came from poverty.
Eventually, though, I became a profesor and co-authored a volume which three famous Ivy League professors raved about. And I have worked in nine countries
To this day I have glaring deficits because of not having available assistance back then, but I enjoy learning every day.
19
A brilliant article describing instances of young students overcoming adversity and disadvantages to land up in Ivy league schools. I was wondering though if it would be a better idea to somehow fund and develop good quality undergraduate education back in the home countries of these students. Good quality undergraduates could work and improve their home countries. Those interested in pursuing further education ( masters and phD) could be welcomed though to top institutions of the world. The student mix at the graduate school level is usually of a better quality in Ivy leagues than at the undergraduate level. I know personally of many Ivy League undergraduate students from India who went to Ivy League Universities in the USA only because they couldn't get selected to intensely competitive institutions back in India ( called IITs, BITS, St. Stephens). Similar is the case of many students from China who pay their way to Ivy Leagues and similar schools, lacking the capability to make it to top Universities back home. At the graduate level however, with scholarships or self-funding for a shorter duration, these students get access to top notch research facilities at good Universities in USA. Thereafter they can decide to be in the USA ( if needed there) or return to their home countries to make a contribution there.
9
What I learned from the admissions scandal was that tuition to these elite institutions was too low. They should auction off places to the top bidders of qualified students and use the extra funds to recruit more disadvantaged people from countries struggling with war and other crises. This would plant seeds all over the world for good relations between all countries.
10
Tuition is too low?
1
Equal opportunity is essential especially for young people. I respect those who contribute to the plans making the disabled or poor young in Zimbabwe to study at the prestigious universities in the US. I see the light not only in the future of the young people of Zimbabwe but also in American society.
10
It's hard not to admire the students profiled here, but I find it outrageous that these elite schools offer these full rides to foreign students while there are so many deserving students here in the US. The Ivy League has benefitted from the families which sent their sons to war and who died defending the US. Why not give an admission preference to the children of dead servicemen?
54
@Frank Many Top schools do offer free rides. I know at some of the Ivy's you can go to college for free with zero debt (I think at Dartmouth if parents make $100,00 or less). Thanks.
9
@Frank
All the Ivies will grant a full ride plus an annual student work contribution to families making under $100,000.
In addition, veterans get a preference, particularly those who apply as transfers.
7
Lovely bit of hope, not just for Zimbabwe but for all of us. The young Zimbabweans in this program aren’t the only beneficiaries. Their American classmates, professors and neighbors also learn and gain from having these smart, brave and delightful Zimbabweans in their midst. In this era of zero-sum thought and rhetoric, it important that we all recognize that win-win situations like this one remain possible. Thank you for telling this story.
5
When I visit Columbia University I see what an ivy league education really means and how it impacts the lives of the students. My son worked hard in the classroom and at his sport to be recruited by Columbia , he made the right choice.
5
I hope the parents from Hollywood who cheated to get there kids in elite schools read this story and realize how little character they have.
30
If you could help yourself, and leave Trump out, it would have been a pure heart touching inspirational story.
Our older son’s friend and teammate, a kid from North African and pretty disadvantaged background just started first semester Harvard Medical school. His other talent was being an impossible to bring down halfback on a mediocre high school team. Nothing beats sports metaphors, does it not?
4
@Just The Facts
We need to think about how Trump represents all that is wrong with this country. He was and remains a spoiled brat who has not grown up. And he exemplifies the rot that permeates too much of this society.
2
A beautiful and inspiring article. Thanks for uplifting your readers during these challenging times.
13
Well done Frank Bruni! So affirming to hear of young people all over the world who enrich our nation.
12
we have so much of these kind children here if we can only nurture them. thx Frank
9
That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Boy, do these students prove that. I am convinced they will be successful in all their endeavors. They have the right stuff.
14
It is fantastic that children from such impoverished and challenging circumstances are admitted to Ivy League schools. But truthfully, a scholarship to any good US university would be transformative. Why the emphasis on these 8 schools?
25
@SK The ones they mention (not just Ivies, but also Pomona, Bryn Mawr, MIT, Stanford, etc.) appear to be all private schools that meet full need. There are many good US universities, but only a few that will meet full need.
20
Because they have money and supports for these students. Duh.
2
@SK, as a Zimbabwean board member of the Education Matters Foundation Africa that is supporting the building of The USAP Community School, I am happy to share that USAP partners with public universities, HBCU's and colleges and universities big and small.
http://www.usapglobal.org/institutions.htm
For our amazing leader, Rebecca, it's all about matching talent with opportunity based on fit.
USAP young people, like Wadzi, call Rebecca "Amai," the Shona word for Mother, because Rebecca wears her mothers heart on her sleeve and believes that all children can succeed, when given the tools to do so. Rebecca is a gift and a blessing to so many.
And did I mention that Rebecca speaks our Shona language fluently? Yep, she is all kinds of awesome!
3
Frank,
This is a beautiful story, beautifully told. I did not know about the United Student Achievers Program but reading your story elevated me from the despair from reading about the incredible fall from World view that we have all seen this week.
Wadzi is inspiring in every dimension of the altruistic nature of humankind. This story came along at the right time. Thanks to you, Wadzi, and the NYTimes. I am confident that we will restore America's leadership in the values that all of humankind shares.
26
Unbelievably inspiring uplifting and I am inn tears over the goodness in this article. Way to go Gertrude Makurumidze and Wadzanay Mayiseni! Your insight, strength and determination, as well as your empathy is much needed. I am so excited for you to achieve your dreams of both becoming doctors!
18
Thank you, Frank, for illuminating what is good in our troubled times.
Even though this program helps a limited, gifted few, it's a beacon to what can work in the world.
18
So, what about the "social" life of these students from poor countries? Do they get a mentor who helps them through all aspects of college life and life in the USA and to whom they can ask questions without felling they are being judged? College life, especially at academically elite schools, can be daunting for American children who are poor and/or whose parents were not college students.
9
I have met dozens of these students and they rise to the challenge, as they rise to so many others. With or without mentors, they find ways to succeed.
6
@m.pipik It's complicated. I attended a free college.
Students were mostly working-class and poor. Some struggled. Some more or less breezed.
It was 65 years ago.
2
@Elinor Burkett
Why should they have to "rise to the challenge" and "find ways to succeed?" They've been through enough challenges and college is academically hard enough. A little extra support would be nice.
2
I certainly congratulate these students on their remarkable achievements. But I am a bit surprised and confused about why Bruni is venerating these Ivy league schools when he has written so much about how getting into the Ivy league is not the most important goal for college students.
49
@Larry Figdill For these students, getting into a school that will meet full need financially is probably the most important goal, and the schools mentioned here (not just Ivies) do that.
14
@Pat I'm not criticizing these students or the schools at all, which I think are all wonderful. Just pointing out Bruni's hypocrisy (mostly excessive crticism of such schools in the past).
3
For some years now, I’ve had the privilege of volunteering with ASSIST, an organization that brings students from Europe, Asia and Africa for a year of study in an American private school – which helps by providing partial or full financial aid. ASSIST raises funds and finds sponsors to cover all other costs for students without financial resources. The first student I met from Abaarso would eventually matriculate at Harvard, but it’s not just the Ivies who support students like him and Wadzi: during a conference held at Marist College in Poughkeepsie NY, I learned that they were about to welcome a student from Abaarso School to their freshman class, and then I found a photo of her cousin in the admission office – a recent graduate. It’s more of a challenge to Marist’s bottom line than for Harvard’s or Columbia’s, but many of our colleges and universities find ways to bring highly qualified students from less well-resourced countries to their campuses – a great benefit to the student community and an immeasurable one to their home countries.
21
Now it's time to help those kids caught in the middle. Not rich enough to have parents who can afford full tuition, particularly at the Ivy League and other prestigious schools, and not poor enough to qualify for any kind of aid private or public.
I grew up with plenty of kids like that. Even if they had the grades and scores to attend an Ivy League, they cannot afford to go. They are not poor, so they must rely on loans or go to a cheaper school.
78
@cl yep - brilliant son going to a state school because we do not qualify for financial aid and cannot afford a half million dollar education at Harvard. Sometimes the brightest and best aren't rich or poor, but in between.
106
@cl
Perhaps you should check out Harvard College's financial aid policy. Many Ivys have the same policies. Most students graduate with 0 loan debt.
https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid/how-aid-works
"For families with annual incomes below $65,000, the expected contribution is zero. Families with annual incomes between $65,000 and $150,000 will contribute between 0 and 10 percent of their income. Those with incomes above $150,000 will be asked to pay proportionately more than 10 percent based on their circumstances.
Families who have significant assets will be asked to pay more, but home equity and retirement assets are not considered in our assessment of financial need."
24
@MCB Yes, living near Columbia, I'm aware of our many fewer students of middle and working class backgrounds attend than when I first moved here in the seventies. The idea that admitting the very wealthy permits schools to grant scholarships only to the impoverished robs both groups of experience with people of average means.
27
The idea of 'extraordinary' and 'brilliant' high school students entering college is a little hard for me to swallow. No doubt they have brain power. They can probably do high math, and I never could. But 'brilliance' has to be proven in great works and high creativity, not in high grades or victory over deprivations. Let's see what they become later.
23
@Fred
Interesting point. The exaltation of these students also probably puts too much pressure on them. I have a feeling it's not always fun being a poster person. I hope they're getting day-to-day support that's less flashy but more fundamental.
14
@Fred
"Victory over deprivations" should certainly count as "extraordinary."
2
Very interesting article. It’s nice that those students, who have got benefited by some schemes have achieved success in their academics and even career as well.
This is awesome! I'd also like to see some articles on middle and working-class kids who have made it in, also against the odds.
38
Kids from American middle or working class backgrounds can indeed get into Harvard or the fancy school of their choice if they work as hard as a cancer survivor or an orphan from an impoverished country with little or no opportunity at home.
I'm sorry, I am a middle class parent with kids in high school, and most of those who boo-hoo about not getting a full ride to an Ivy probably work about 5% as hard, with minimal adversity and hardship in their lives, as the students profiled in this story.
26
May be an unpopular opinion, but why are US government supported Universities accepting foreign persons instead of Americans who are just as capable and will add to the American economy?
Will the subject be returning to Africa to help fix that nation or stay here?
28
@stan Nonetheless, the US government has historically seen the benefits of high level internationally student. However, I am not sure how much the Ivy League depends on US government support. And these particular students are brought via a non profit. Moreover, international students add to the richness and raise the intellectual level of universities and to America if they choose to stay. Where ever these students go, they are only an asset.
52
@stan - "Will the subject be returning to Africa to help fix that nation or stay here?"
NYT - "Wadzi said that she could envision getting a medical degree in the United States, becoming a pediatric oncologist and then returning home to help children who confront medical scares like the one that she survived."
7
@Mrs B
I'd have thoughts to share with stan about why it's a good thing that a school like Columbia makes a place for a student like Ms. Mayiseni, but for the record he's right that there's substantial federal funding going into such places. For instance, for every dollar a private university researcher gets from a federal agency for a project, the government must give an additional amount - at Columbia I think it's currently around 60 cents - for the school's facilities and administrative costs. That rate is negotiated regularly and recognizes that the university has to have the infrastructure within which the researcher can work, but students like Ms. Mayiseni make use of that infrastructure too.
That said, and back to the main point, a person like Ms. Mayiseni enriches the university and our country while she's here and will enrich the world for the rest of her life, and all of those enrichments are worthy and appropriate outcomes for a university like Columbia to nurture.
14
My congratulations to these extraordinary students and those who have helped them achieve their fullest. They are an inspiration.
That said, I was dismayed to see the headline on this article once again reinforcing the "brand" of the Ivy League. The eight schools who compete in the Ivy Athletic League ( compare the Big 10, Pac 12, Patriot League) are definitely excellent, but they are very different, and deserve to be considered each on its own merits. In fact it is an accident of history that these eight schools ended up in the same bailiwick.
Reinforcing the mystique of the ivy League distorts the picture of American higher education. There are hundreds of schools that are as good or better choices for many students than the eight schools in the Ivy Athletic League. Finding the "right fit" for a student is by far the most important consideration in choosing a college, whether one is coming from a disadvantaged or a privileged background.
I would be pleased to hear that the USAP has carefully and methodically found the best schools for their very deserving potential students based on their needs and desires, rather than measuring the success of this program as if it were going after the "trophy" of "ivy League brand" admission.
84
@William O, Beeman
I'm an Ivy grad, and I totally agree with your statement that the "right fit" is by far the most important, and that the Ivys are very different, and that many other colleges provide equal or better education. However, at this point in time, Harvard and the of Ivy offer great need-based financial aid that can make them end up being less expensive than even some of the more expensive state universities.
15
@William O, Beeman
I think that you may find that the Ivy Leagues schools have the most financial aid (i.e.total) available for such deserving students that clearly require a total free ride for academics, not athletics.
8
I’m British so I am probably missing something as I know very little about your system, but I got the impression from the article that the tuition itself was provided by the colleges themselves, therefore the most prestigious and so I am presuming wealthiest colleges were best placed to provide the subsidised (ie. free to the student) tuition and presumably accommodation costs and possibly even living expenses, hence the focus on the Ivy League bit? From my reading of the article it would seem if some of the excellent non Ivy League institutions were able to provide free places in the same manner the lady running the scheme would be more than happy and able to provide the students? Just a thought.
5
We shouldn't be criticizing rich kids and their exceptional opportunities, only those who don't put their advantages to positive use. The rich kids, like the rest of us, can't choose their parents or the economic and social status which they are born into. However, they can choose to apply their station, education, and wealth—for a greater good. Of course, that decision depends on how they are raised in the first place. Wealth is not the enemy; greed is the problem. And now, a greedy man runs our country.
USAP is an outstanding program. Bravo, Rebecca Mano!
Thank you, Frank Bruni.
30
Top colleges and universities are scouring everywhere to find poor, non white talent to go a little bit beyond tokenism. And it's diffcult because the competition for underpriviledged but talented youth is intense.
Part of the problem is dealing with the distinction between poverty and racism. It's a huge problem in the US since the two issues frequently overlap. Nuff said.
The second issue is that parents with some resources and some education send their kids to pre-schools, and provide extra enrichment, and work with their kids. Commonly, for many reasons, those advantages are not available to poor or minority kids. So they will always be behind, since even by the time children of the poor and minorities start first grade, they may already be a year behind kids whose parents sacrificed, provided enrichment, spent time with their kids.
There are a few kids from the poor areas and minorities can to a degree overcome some of the economic and social handicaps. But poor and minority parents have to work hard, sacrifice, and struggle to help their kids. If they don't, then their kids have to hope for "special consideration."
6
"Countries don’t fall neatly into categories: good versus bad sources of immigrants. Reality is more complicated. Talent is universal."
Great paragraph, even greater article, Frank Bruni. I really needed this after the week that was.
I love Wadzi's spirit to take her education back to her country with the goal of helping kids battle cancer, as she had to do.
It's great to know that programs are being developed to help talented kids from the poorest areas of the world get a good education. But it's even greater to hear them say they're looking forward to using that education to pay it forward by helping help their fellow citizens break the cycle of poverty.
45
Ms. Mayiseni is an inspiration.
13
Very inspirational article.
9
Wow!
Thank you Frank. Thank you NYT. And last but not least, thank you Rebecca.
17
@Walt Lersch
We all need more stories like this and many fewer of our national disgrace in the WH.
And much credit to Rebecca Mano who opens opportunity for others.
35
beautiful. Thank you.
9
Thank God for people like this...the enablers, who fund, and work, and identify, and support this supremely, supremely talented students. And the students - my goodness, what country wouldn’t be happy to have you among its number! Thank you for this story, which has made my day and reminded me that there are selfless and good people in the world.
Now, where do we all sign up?
34
Thank you for this inspiring article, Frank.
12
Thank you for writing about a gleam of hope in a time of abject darkness.
19
I hope Wadzanay Mayiseni, from Zimbabwe immigrates here after she finishes as Columbia. I hope she becomes an American. We are infinitely richer when the best and brightest from other countries choose to become Americans. That is the only true surplus a country can have.. A brain surplus.
8
@Neal Sarborious, Wadzi is hoping to go home to Zim! I am a Zimbabwean here in Pittsburgh (we might be neighbors!) working with Rebecca and The Education Matters Africa Foundation, to help build the USAP school in Zim. Like Wadzi, I know first hand how the gift of education changes life trajectories, so it's my turn to pay it forward.
2
@Neal Sarborious
Sorry. We don't deserve to have her. Best she goes back to the country of her birth and helps her fellow Zimbabweans. In the meantime, American students can step up to the plate and try to be better scholars and citizens.
2
Thank you for this article. Meanwhile People Magazine puts on it’s cover The Cheaters. Shame on them, because you told a good story honoring heroes.
8
This is inspiring as the Make a Wish dreams that are granted every year fir life's overcomers. Wish Frank had linked to the chance r iyies that help grant these dreams. The girl meeting the statue of liberty was so inspiring! Imagine the memories she will take away from that. A feel good US tale, like Fieval from the Disney movie and song: Somewhere Out There.
2
@Midway
She will also take away the racist actions of Trump and his clan of bigots and white supremacists,; actions that she will see while she is here. Were it only true that the inscription on OUR Statue of Liberty were still true under the devil in the WH.
I feel so ashamed that Wadzi will have to see the worst of America while she is here. Hopefully we will deal with that way before her graduation and she too can celebrate. SHE will understand more than any Republican.
1
I'm glad talent around the world is found and encouraged. Hope many of these kids will help uplift many more from their countries. However Mr. Bruni, why highlight Columbia, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, M.I.T., the University of Chicago, Duke, Pomona in this essay? As a parent of a high school senior (with stellar grades and accomplishments) who will never get a chance to attend or afford any of these colleges, we have taken encouragement from your book "Where you go is not who you will be". Should we now pay attention to the US News ranking and prestige and go into debt? Confusing..
30
@GreatExpectations: I don't know your family circumstances, but I might suggest that you don't cross off the colleges you listed solely for economic reasons. With financial aid, these colleges are often cheaper than state schools. I attended one of them free of charge, because I had no money.
20
@hammond
Thank you! I have asked my son to look further into some of these "elite" schools listed in this article and see if he can apply to a few in addition to the state schools already on his list.
9
@GreatExpectations: Yay!! Best of luck to him!
I know many people who are pleasantly surprised by the actual cost of going to these private schools. For me, it was much cheaper than my state school option.
7
Thanks, Frank, I needed that! With all the pompous blasphemy coming out of the White House, it's easy to forget all the good things that continue to happen in this country. (And that's a sentence I never thought I would have to write!)
12
There is poverty most places, but Zimbabwe stands out as a brutally difficult place to live. 95% unemployment, stores with empty shelves even if you have money. People leaving in droves. This woman and her organization are heroes; we need more like her and them. Thanks again Mr. Bruni.
10
Beautiful. Thank You.
1
It sure seems that Wadzi, if she decided to —or could stay in this country after graduating—would be an immigrant who could help “make America great” by her courage and indefatigable will and her untapped talents.
She overcame the “disadvantages” of her birth country.
She overcame the “disadvantages” of a single-parent household.
She overcame the “disadvantages” of a debilitating disease.
She refused the easy way out. She didn’t ask for a handout.
She persevered through her native intelligence and will.
And she’s from a country that the American president has disparaged as being filthy and unclean.
And the president doesn’t want her here because she’s not from Norway.
If only some Americans displayed her moxie and grit, we might begin the long walk down that long road to some mythological greatness that he talks about.
22
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
Amen. Some people aren’t fit to carry her books. Not that they would deign to do such a thing, as they are too busy swanning about being a stable genius or adjacent.
Sad.
13
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
Beautifully summarized. She is an embodiment of ‘the American Dream.’ But you-know-who, a man who never had to overcome anything in his life, sees fit to look down on and reject people like her because of skin color and country of birth.
13
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
No. No.No. These brilliant students can have far more impact n improving the world by going home. We don't deserve them!
8
Wow! What an awesome leader she could be!!!! Compassion, intellect, drive! I can dream, can’t I?
7
This is wonderful! I welcome Getrude Makurumidze to the profession!
5
This is a wonderful and important story, and inspiring. Thank you.
4
Wealth in the US and around the world is being ever more concentrated in the hands of a few. Our domestic universities are unique among institutions that offer a hand up -- opportunities for meaningful success to ALL those with smarts and a willingness to work. This piece by Bruni beautifully highlights cases of students originating from Africa. There are remarkable successes among US students, as well. In California, for example, first generation students are thriving in the Cal State U and UC systems, becoming leaders in technology, health science and business. While the right may demonize universities for supposedly promoting leftist politics, in fact, it's these remarkable institutions that continue to provide a path to the American dream.
13
Thank you Frank Bruni. Another inspirational column to counterpoint the negativity out of the White House.
11
I like to read about historical heroes, like Stalin, and angels, who come in better styles. While parked outside a rigorous professional school on a Sunday afternoon, calculating to depart, a woman pulled beside my vehicle. She needed a space so she could go into the school. She was angelically sweet; I remember her after years, a Zimbabwean studying law in Cambridge. I explained that I was planning where to go, if she might please wait 45 seconds. She waited while I planned. Then we had a twenty-second friendship about law school. I wished her well. Knowing no other Zimbabweans, I believe Zimbabweans are the sweetest people. Seeing Wadzanay Mayiseni, et al, brought back a sweet memory, consistent with Mr. Bruni's splendid opinion.
6
I am alive to the criticisms that some other commenters have mentioned about how the very selective Ivy League and similar schools are not the be all and end all of higher education, as well as the observations that it's only a small number of people we're talking about and there are plenty of people right here in the US who are equally talented and equally bereft of opportunity to flower that talent.
That still does not take away from the drive and the accomplishments of the students introduced here, nor does it detract from the mitzvah Frank Bruni performs by telling us of them.
It just makes us aware--or re-aware--of how much more those of us who are privileged have to do, and how awesome is the responsibility we have.
19
"Yes, America’s richest colleges stay that way by giving special consideration to families with the means to make big donations. But they simultaneously use some of their wealth, if not quite enough, to educate students who cannot contribute a dime to their tuition."
And therein lies the actual purpose of this op-ed. An apologia.
12
@KS Ali
The purpose is irrelevant. The facts are relevant.
Let's help our own first: the disabled, the chronically ill, the poor, those with less than stellar academic backgrounds due to environmental circumstance. There are so many young people here in the US that need this help which should of course begin in kindergarten, but doesn't. Let's fund public colleges and universities so that everyone can thrive. Let's take care of our own first! Let's do something right can't we?
23
@Ellen F. Dobson Don't think Americans have it that bad to be honest.
9
@Ellen F. Dobson It's unfortunate that you think that way. Like it or not, we are part of the world community and we/they are "our own."
7
@Ellen F. Dobson
It's not either/or.
3
Having been born and educated on a reservation I am still sad to hear the schools lack supplies. I sometimes fantasize that Bill Gates or an unknown hedge fund person will in one month give all the students on all the reservations a laptop. You don't have to go to Africa, Mr. Bruni, to find students herding sheep, living with no running water, miles from the nearest school. These kids are the invisible "students of color".
181
@sharonmiami: Well said. I had a classmate in medical school who was a member of the Oglala Lakota nation. She forsook a more lucrative career among the affluent to serve her own people. Hers is a really tough job.
I've spent enough time in and around the res to glimpse the poverty and despair that we as a nation have heaped upon native peoples.
43
What's not emphasized in this article the the wealth of ideas and cultural perspectives these students bring to campus life. I can only imagine the great conversations I might have had with Wadzi had she been a classmate of mine.
18
@hammond
I'm reading through some of the comments here, and a recurring theme is that it's a form of "charity," that we're helping "them" before "our own." These people are wrong.
You are absolutely right—we are all the more fortunate to benefit from their "wealth of ideas and cultural perspectives."
17
What a story. It allows us to start having hope again that, after all, there may be justice in the world. That human talent need not be wasted just because of financial constraints. A fact discovered by a generous contributor...that wanted to be able to look in the mirror again, with the satisfaction a good deed may prosper. As 'they' say, that the move of a butterfly's wing may affect distant parts of the world, and benefit any and all of us...eventually.
7
“Talent is universal.”
Yes, it is! Every young person profiled here deserves every break that comes their way. Inspiring!
All over the developing world, and in every corner in the US where poverty has left its traces, there are also countless others whose talents are overwhelmed by their circumstances, and who do not get the chance to become who they deserve to be. Our world will only be just when these tragic inequalities are remedied.
Thank you, Frank, for bringing these issues to readers’ attention in an inspiring fashion.
16
Times have changed since I was an Ivy Leaguer in the 60s. The incoming freshman class at Princeton this fall includes 14% who are the first members of their families to ever attend college. Among these students are many other remarkable stories of courage in overcoming obstacles and disadvantages.
11
@John Poole
First member doesn’t quite tell the story.
For context, according to this months The Atlantic, 60 percent of current Ivy League seats are going to the top 1 percent of our Oligarch class and most are legacies.
Pride is the day when legacies, already in the top earning class, voluntarily pass their legacy seat to those truly deserving on merit and need, alone. There are some outstanding state schools.
11
@John Poole
It is the donations. largely from wealthy alum (parents of legacy students). that allow the Ivies to offer amazing financial aid packages to students like Wadzi or those first in family. Princeton's philosophy might surprise many who don't get it: No student graduates with any debt!
2
These young folks can all be proud. But. The implicit equating of “brilliance” with “Ivy league” is one of the more pernicious features of US discourse. Brilliance doesn’t have to go through the US, it doesn’t have to go through elite higher education or higher education at all, it doesn’t have to go through NGOs. It feels like this is at least as much about elite institutions tightly bound up with US power selling their own goodness as it is about the stories of these young people.
48
A beautiful and inspiring story. We could use a few more these days.
I do wonder though...
With so much money, innovation and technology, is there no way to establish donor funded satellite learning centers where a larger local population can learn in the community they live and will eventually work and contribute? Learning virtually locally, then traveling to the main US Ivy campus for yearly conferences, camps and internships? So much more can be done to increase the scale and accessibility of an elite education for all wishing to be Ivy League beneficiaries of life’s golden ticket. Ivy’s could even foster a foreign exchange program for educators, planners and administrators who can also operationally benefit from a diverse work and cooperative training experience.
Instead of a lottery ticket lucky few, there should be many winners. Including the community of origin which too often lose these bright young minds.
22
The accomplishment of these students are impressive. Equally impressive is what has been accomplished by a small school in Somaliland called Abaarso School of Science and Technology. This is an English immersion school started about ten years ago by a retired equity fund manager. This school gets about 1000 applicants for 50 openings in its 7th grade class. The school has a 7th through 12th grade curriculum. This year, it has over 20 students graduating from American colleges; two students from Harvard, one from Brown and about 18 other students from other fine schools like Rochester and TCU. It was featured on 60 minutes two years ago and Nicholas Kristof has done a column on it. The graduates will be going back to Somaliland to help their country become a better place to live for its inhabitants. Anyone interested to see what can be done when starting from nothing should check its website.
11
I'm sure this story is amazing. But I'm not going to read it, because even though we love the stories of those who make amazing and unlikely journeys to "the top," Mr. Bruni and others like him who write for the Times should really focus more on public higher education. Why the obsession with the Ivy League? The untold story of access to college in America is the lack of state support for affordable tuition at state universities, which serve many many many more people than the Ivies. And even though some Ivies have done an amazing job diversifying their student bodies in every way possible -- including lower income students, schools like City University of NY do FAR more to raise the economic prospects of MANY more people from modest backgrounds. The reality of higher education in America is not the wonderful students who make it to the Ivies, but the many thousands more who struggle to both work and attend school in the fact of raising tuition at their own state schools.
196
@Dean Um, you do know that Frank Bruni wrote an entire book on this exact subject and numerous articles about it in this same paper? I read them all when my kids were in HS and they heavily influenced my thinking to let my foot off the accelerator and let my kids pursue their interests at good state schools that I can actually afford. My oldest started OU this year.
31
My doctor is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Medical School. We were looking at the certificates and diplomas on his wall the other day, and he told me that the most valuable one he ever got was from the Department of Health and Human Services allowing him to bill for Medicare services.
14
These are the people who will lead the world into the future. Not the pampered rich kids whose parents pave their way to every "accomplishment" with money, and who believe they are better than everyone else because they have more money. As to PMD's comment, I agree. Offer them a dual citizenship. Their home country and the USA. Let everyone benfit.
16
Why do you think it’s a disadvantage to be herding livestock? You really think sitting with bad posture staring at a phone swiping left or right is a better alternative?
44
@Harris silver; Very good point. Herding teaches responsibility and builds bones.
23
@Harris silver Herders are, of necessity, astute observers of their surroundings, noting changes large and small and making independent decisions based on experience in mitigating risk and utilizing opportunity. Survival and livelihood depend on the choices made. These work habits and skills are are transferrable to other settings.
Those who focus much of their time on a screen frequently fail to observe, understand and engage in their own surroundings.
8
Zimbabweans have lived through one of the most brutal dictatorships, far worse than most Americans could imagine. It’s wonderful to read a story that presents us with such a positive outlook for these students.
15
Thank you very much for writing that beautiful piece. We need more of these stories. Outstanding journalism.
25
The key is getting these lucky individuals to return to their native countries after they finish their education here. I don't know how often that happens but if only a minority return I hate to say this but the program fails.
We have plenty of young people here who could avail themselves of these limited opportunities, and if we make room for foreigners to come here and return to their countries of origin I think that is a great investment on our part. But if we let them stay here, then all we are doing is denying a deserving American of equal potential and the result is the same - the educated person remains in the US. So that's a loss for us.
We only gain when the student returns and helps lift their own country. In that case, I completely agree, it is a great investment.
37
@Sirlar my own son's education at an ivy was improved by professors who were 'foreign' at one time but who became Americans sorry coming for their education here. Also the international and diverse student body created fantastic cross cultural experiences for his cohort those four years; far more diverse than his high school. So, I think you're mistaken. I don't see any loss at the individual or societal level.
10
Thanks for the wonderful story. It is good for the heart.
I especially like the following statement: "America’s richest colleges stay that way by giving special consideration to families with the means to make big donations"
I hope everyone recognizes that there are no free lunches. However distasteful it might be, if it helping do some good, then so be it. In fact, we should try to look the positive aspects of it. Now a rich kid will come into contact with someone with less things and hopefully start a change in his/her worldview.
12
@Ramesh True. I was a street vendor when my son reached college age. We could only consider schools with a lot of scholarship money, and that turned out to mean Ivy League schools.
7
More power to the kids. As for the broader perspective, there are obvious issues. Not a one of these kids is eligible for federal student loans. So each accepted kid gets a $200,000 education on the school. This limits the program to elite wealthy colleges. As for our state universities, they pretty much require foreign students to pay their own way. So most international students at these schools are wealthy. And what about the middle class? They go somewhere else. There are no places for them in the US. That is the system. I'm not sure I like it.
23
It is interesting that elite private schools have become kind of bimodal - wealthy kids and kids who are first generation college
11
@Robt Little
Actually, there are lots of middle class American kids at elite schools. You can tell them because they are weighted down with debt of $100,000 or more.
5
@michjas
It’s primarily the foreign grad students who are wealthy. International students of all backgrounds have been coming to US state schools for PhDs for a very long time. They generally receive the same free tuition plus a living stipend deal that US students get in exchange for teaching and doing research. It’s only fairly recently that state Us have been admitting a significant cohort of wealthy undergrads, primarily to boost revenue in order to make up for decreased state funding.
1
We have to make sure that students from impoverish countries don't impoverish these countries by not returning to them.
13
OK folks. If you lived in England, all you have to do is score well on the A-Levels and you go to Oxford or Cambridge for free. People come from the most average and even ordinary families and go straight to the top because they are interested in getting ahead. The same is true throughout Europe, although for whatever reason, the best colleges are all in the USA and England. Even Julius Caesar noted that England had all the best Druid universities.
11
@Jonathan, I think you are forgetting Germany... And I am sure there are topnotch colleges in Scandinavian countries, Belgium, etc. Maybe they have the language barrier, although I know that many European universities have courses in English as well.
6
@Jonathan: Most top universities in the US have needs-blind admission policies. Kids from wealthy families are rightly expected to pay full retail. Kids like I was, from poor families, get a free ride. I'll admit it; middle class families struggle sometimes.
That said, the competition for spots at the top American colleges is considerably tougher than for a spot at Cambridge or Oxford.
2
I was told by an elite colleges admissions officer that ‘need blind’ is a joke. They are instructed to specifically seek out decently qualified students who can pay as much as possible. Zip Codes are how they start the filtering process.
7
What remarkable and encouraging stories! Thank you for sharing them and for shining a spotlight on USAP, an amazing organization that I suspect many, including me, have never heard of before. In the painfully divided world we live in, it gives hope to know that there are people helping impoverished African students with brilliant minds get the best possible educations. We all have the same color blood and the same spectrum of intelligence, no matter the color of our skin or the size of our pocket books.
15
Just imagine the world we could live in if everyone had a chance at a great education; if girls were not held back. The wealth of talent in 3rd world Countries is enormous.
35
I am so pleased to see this young woman on the steps of my doctoral alma mater. I would have been so delighted to have her in one of my sections when I was a graduate student.
26
Thank you for this article. For all the beatings Ivy schools take, if you actually set foot on one of them, you find an extremely diverse and talented group of students. The campus made up exclusively of white, male, bluebloods ended along time ago despite the efforts in some of the media to paint a different picture.
57
@Jim Z There are different types of diversity. The great problem of the Ivy League schools and other top-tier schools is that the vast majority of students have led very privileged lives whether they want to admit it or not.
26
@Gerald O’Keeffe
What data and what type of data forms the basis for your comment. You realize that all of the Ivy League Schools publish extensive and detailed data on their incoming classes.
1
@Jim Z I’m a sample of one, but under no measure at all did I come from a economically privileged background. But I am forever grateful to an Ivy League school that extended me a scholarships to make my attendance possible. And even thirty years ago, the financially privileged were present, but not the vast majority. And perhaps them paying full freight made my attendance a reality
8
No disrespect to these fine young people, but I can assure you that equally deserving fine young people are in Appalachia and border towns and throughout America, and they too would have benefited from such an opportunity. They, and their parents, help provide Columbia with enormous tax benefits in the form of nonprofit status. Is it really acceptable to value foreign suffering over that of our our fellow citizens?
175
As a human being and temporary resident of this planet I’d like to think we shouldn’t have to make such a choice. We spend trillions every decade on the military budgets. And I’m not suggesting we make a choice between the or some other budget item. But I think this great country of ours can find a way to help both groups of people.
71
@Stephen, resources are limited at Columbia, this nonprofit, and all other educational institutions. Until we live in a time of limitless resources, we are making tradeoffs every day. The students highlighted may be deserving, but let us not overlook that those tradeoffs were made and equally deserving Americans were not chosen.
43
@Hazelmom, I don't know if you've ever heard of QuestBridge, which is a terrific program geared toward connecting students from low-income backgrounds with leading institutions of higher education such as those mentioned in Mr. Bruni's great Op-Ed piece.
https://www.questbridge.org/about/mission-and-vision
Mr. Bruno, thank you so much for this column. The future of our world--domestically and abroad--hinges on creating educational opportunities for bright, determined young people such as these, and connecting them with like-minded individuals from different backgrounds.
32
When brilliant, young foreign students, despite the enormous odds, persevere and matriculate at our elite institutions, our government should stamp “citizen” on their paperwork upon graduation and attempt to retain their talents.
20
@PMD It's certainly important that people know they are welcome, and some may wish to stay. But actually, many will potentially have a valuable contribution that they want to make to their home countries. By making those contributions, they may have the potential to create a better, fairer world - which benefits everyone.
15
Thank you so much for this important and inspiring story!
The opportunities given to these young people help not just them, but also “save a world” because of the exponential blessings they will bring to their homelands.
17
Trump has no objection in inviting bright students from those poor countries for education. He might want to make them stay in America after education if they can do great jobs here for American people, but he might be happier for them to return to their countries to make their countries better by themselves while American people take care of America by themselves, too. Make America Great Again campaign can be a universal concept. Make each country great in their own ways and American government can be best model for other countries’s governments, not theirs’ replacement.
15
“make them stay” and “do great jobs for American people”? I am going to assume that you have merely put this poorly and that you are not actually suggesting some form of indentured servitude or outright slavery. Because gosh, it sure sounds like it.
4
@Young First the greatness of America existed before the current administration and, God willing, may exist afterwards. We should welcome the talents of those who wish to contribute to our continued success, recognizing that our past and present success has been through providing the opportunity for contributions from diverse quarters. Without recognizing this fact we will diminish the interest of the potential contributors and thus diminish the welcome contributions they would have made to the common weal.
2
@Young Make American Great? Like, by putting toddlers in cages and destroying the environment and deregulating just about every health and safely rule AND encouraging domestic terrorism by supporting white supremacist's conspiracy theories?
1
Thank you for writing an inspiring article. I’m so impressed and in awe of the woman who started this program. It shows what one person can do to change the world and make it a better place!!
If each of us did what we could & had the talent for, to give others a hand up, we could sure change the trajectory of history.
34
Thank you, Mr.Bruni-this has been a week full of gut wrenching stories which make us desperate for sanity and happy news.This essay more than filled the bill.Congratulations to USAP and the dedicated students which it helps.I do hope they return to their countries to help enlighten others-they would be such an asset here but Africa desperately needs their expertise to advance the cause of a good education for all.One of The highlights of my life was visiting a school for Zulu girls over fifty years ago during the time in South Africa of Apartheid-the young women were so engaging and hopeful-it was inspiring.
40
Great story about remarkable young adults and an organization that is there to identify and support these talented folks. It is encouraging to know that there is such an organization in this country, called the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, that is "dedicated to advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need." Internationally, nationally and hopefully locally, there will be more and more dedicated people and organizations helping people who have not had either the resources or support to become the best they can become.
14
Oh Frank, I needed this. Look at her shining face, I can see pride, hope and a glorious future. THIS is the promise of America and the dream of people over the entire Planet. No, I’m not suggesting open borders or massive, unfettered immigration.
But surely we have room for some kids that have proven themselves as extremely resilient, hard working and capable. If not, what’s the entire point ? Thank you.
492
@Phyliss Dalmatian
I bet she goes home and shares her skills there, instead of staying here in academia. She has overcome too much to rest on her laurels and has so much growth ahead. Even Malala will tire of being shown.
12
@Midway
Yes, I think she’ll go home, when she’s ready. And she will help others to come and learn. The Circle Of learning and Success. Brilliant.
16
@Midway, that is a bet I will take. Approximately 5% of the foreign medical students at my university leave the US to return to their native countries each year. This is true of the Europeans as well who will earn twice as much in the US (home of the world's most privatized medical system).
11
Amazing stories - I will be showing this column to me girls.
I always tell them that they were: ''born three (3) times lucky''
- into a western free Democracy
- into a family of somewhat means-
- white
I could have included male to make it four, if they were boys.
I also remind them every chance I get that with all of the above is the responsibility to make a difference in this life and on this earth for people that have 1, 2, or 3 strikes against them. (meaning none of the above)
That doesn't mean that people necessarily have all of the strikes against them if they were born of color, to a poor family, and in a nation that doesn't quite advocate freedom, but they do certainly have to work harder for less.
''In her ideal scenario, they bring the knowledge that they’ve acquired in college back to a country with a shortage of leaders, of innovators, of hope.''
The IDEAL scenario is, of course, to not have to leave at all, or have universities, teachers, leaders and so on that move to these spots/countries around the world - WITHOUT prompt.
THAT would be the ideal scenario.
62
@FunkyIrishman
Exactly!
1
This was really encouraging.
Too often, people conclude that one’s lot in life is determined by their own efforts. But opportunity is a major factor in outcome. For all the unfortunate ways in which this country has become sharply xenophobic, it is heartening to see avenues of welcome for those who will ultimately contribute well to the US and the world.
54
Mr. Bruni-you wrote a widely respected book “Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be”. As I recall, one of the key takeaways is for HS students to not be excessively focused on the top-tier schools (like the Ivy League). Yet here you are with a piece that highlights an Ivy League school. Is it possible that schools like Columbia receive FAR MORE media coverage than they deserve? How about highlighting some of the non-elitist schools in the United States?
341
@Gerald O’Keeffe Yes, I thought about this also because I think the hype around the Ivy League has almost created a monolith of thought about educational excellence. But, the fact is that this story really is about remarkable students who overcome brutal beginnings, or, in the words of one these prodigies, rising above difficulties that seem insurmountable, and, with help and through persistence and dedication to an ideal, set out to achieve a goal that in any case will make the world better. I also appreciated the article, because it informed me, through one of these children, that the 7 points on Lady Liberty's crown represented 7 continents, something I thought was worth knowing but didn't know or even think about before.
121
This is a great story. But again, it is about exceptionalism. This program helps 35 students a year. There are many immigrant and refugee kids already here in the US who are working hard in public schools and attending community colleges and state universities, hoping to make a difference in their lives and their communities. They deserve our help, even if their goals are more modest than this remarkable young woman's.
248
Mr. O’Keefe - are you unable to glean that these scholars admission to schools like Columbia & Bryn Mawr blows up your argument (that they’re “elitist”)? Such a spurious contention has recently acquired inappropriate credence, however plain the truth: simple excuse-making for people insufficiently intelligent to matriculate. Whereas the young ladies spotlighted here by Mr. Bruni clearly do: I applaud them! PS To be clear, I’m a proud graduate of public universities - LBSU & Cal - far from Ivy alumnae.
25
Why are we so enamored by our Ivy League colleges as the pinnacle of global talent?
All you have to do is look around at just about any country’s most elite schools and you’ll find the bar is set abnormally high and in many cases exceeding the Ivy League (no room from athletes, legacies, etc). Take a look at China, India, South Korea, Japan, just to name a few - the competition and environment is unreal and unforgiving.
48
There is nothing remarkable about an institution where fuzzy criteria are used to admit the wealthy and powerful and then use their wealth as leverage to grant other bright folks a chance to provide the institution credibility built on these individuals brilliant credentials.
Its a system designed to build a full 360 degrees of credibility- rich people giving, getting associated with the Ivy, brand benefiting, attracting talent, talent riding coat tails of the brand to further it. It works because in the end unless academics is subsidized by the people (govt) to grow indigenous talent, it remains a marketing system.
Most other countries have academic institutions driven by academic credentials not wealth and power.
13