LYNN, Mass. — Andy Ly always knew he wanted to go to college. What he didn’t realize was the wealth of choices he would have once the time came.
Ly, a senior at Lynn Classical High School, began applying to colleges back in the fall.
“I applied to 20, 21 colleges in total,” he said. “I applied to all the Ivy’s, MIT, Stanford -- just to get those applications out there. Just hoping some of them would stick and here I am.”
Here he is, turning down Cornell, Brown, Stanford and many others -- schools with admission rates hovering between four and seven percent -- for Harvard.
“I was like, yes, I got into a local school,” Ly said. “My Mom was like, yay, my son got into Harvard and so she was super happy.”
Ly, who plans to major in mechanical engineering, arrived at this point in his academic career after a stellar run in high school. He is on track to be valedictorian of his class -- and just learned he won a prestigious Gates scholarship, which completely covers the cost of any four-year college winner chosen.
Ly said Stanford was a tempting choice -- as it ranks near the top of U.S. schools offering mechanical engineering degrees. He learned he got into the California school about a week after the three Ivies.
“I was kind of praying they didn’t take me -- because then I didn’t want to make the decision,” he said.
Ultimately, Ly wanted to stay in the Boston area -- and so, earlier this month, he turned down Stanford -- considered the most elite university on the West Coast.
Ly credits his academic success, more than anything, to his teachers at Lynn Classical.
“I’ve had a lot of engaging teachers -- teachers who are interested in not only the subject they teach but other subjects you can talk about,” Ly said. “I’m definitely a little more apt in math than some other people, but it’s the teachers that honed that skill and brought it up even more.”
Ly also said paying attention in class helped cut down on studying time later.
“I know there are plenty of people out there who study hours and hours every day,” he said. “That’s kind of not my style. I’m not a huge studier. I like to balance my work life, my school life, and sports. Having that balance allows me to not feel burned out and always have some way of healing or feeling like I’m doing something.”
Ly plays tennis for the Lynn Classical Rams and in past years played baseball.
He also believes in the power of enough sleep. “I get eight or nine hours of sleep every night,” Ly said.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW