Central High West student accepted to 7 Ivy League schools

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Remember the student from New York who made headlines when he was accepted to all eight Ivy League schools? It turns out there is another superstar right here in the Valley.

Central High West student Michelle Benavidez got into 20 prestigious colleges, including seven Ivy League schools.

If anyone has any question on how to apply to college, this is who you want to ask.

"Ever since I was younger I had these aspirations to learn and achieve a higher education despite the fact that my parents hadn't even gone to high school," said Benavidez.

The 18-year-old is not only the first person in her family to go to college; English is her second language. But mastering it is what helped the Central High West senior earn herself the campus' highest valedictorian honor and get accepted to 20 of the nation's top universities, including Princeton, Brown and Yale.

"Honestly my first acceptance letter was a likely letter and I got it early and it was from Dartmouth. I received it about mid-February and I honestly couldn't believe it. I read it 30 times and you get to the point where you're questioning the wording. Does 'likely' mean I am accepted? Am I not accepted?" said Benavidez.

When offers arrived from Cornell, Duke and University of Pennsylvania, reality set in. Her AP Honors English teacher Jason Scroggins says Benavidez kept him busy -- often turning in more work than what was required of her.

"Luckily we don't do a curve because if we did she might be attacked outside the classroom because her work is above and beyond what other people turn in and that's in a room full of very smart, motivated students, she still stands out," said Scroggins.

While there, Benavidez took 11 Advanced Placement courses, volunteered for numerous organizations and clubs, all while earning a 4.5 GPA. She says choosing which school to go to was one of the most difficult decisions of her life, but eventually chose Yale because it "looked like a castle."

Each school required a separate essay, and getting into Yale was more difficult this year because the acceptance rate was just 6.5 percent. Choosing Yale means she and the student from New York will attend the same school next fall.