Six Malaysians accepted into prestigious Harvard College, most ever in one year

SIX Malaysians have been accepted into Harvard College, the prestigious undergraduate school at Harvard University.

Chooi Je Qin, Herman Leong Xin Yang, Ishant Shah, Carisma Michaela Wong, Lee Ee Jenn and Alyssa Yap Xin Yi will be part of the Harvard College Class of 2026. Each of them plan to pursue studies in a variety of academic fields including astrophysics, economics and public policy, politics and sociology.

This is the largest number of Malaysians accepted into the Ivy League university in a single year, with the previous record being two students at most in a year, according to Harvard College alumnus Wan Nadiah Wan Mohd Abdullah Yaakob on her Twitter account.

“We are thrilled that a record-breaking five Malaysian students were accepted to Harvard College in a single year,” she said in a statement on Saturday (April 2), before amending her statement by adding than one more student had been accepted into Harvard. 

Each of the six students came from all over the country, from KL, Johor, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak. 

In addition to academic success, Chooi has competed in Astrophysics and Astronomy Olympiads, Ishant is a national squash player with a record of community service, Herman played the double bass for the school orchestra and Chinese orchestra, Carisma has a strong interest for Kadazan culture and Sabahan history, and Lee represented Malaysia in debate competitions while taking on leadership roles in the Malaysian Youth Delegation and at the Model United Nations. 

Their acceptance into the renowned school comes despite the institution having the lowest acceptance rate in its 386-year history this year. Harvard also only accepted 3.19% out of 61,220 applicants from all around the world this year.

Harvard also announced that families making less than US$75,000 (RM316,000) annually will not be charged tuition, which will be a great help to many, especially foreign students. – The Vibes, April 5, 2022