Actress Yara Shahidi has been offered admission to every college she applied to.
The Black-ish star tells Seventeen magazine she has received acceptance letters from all the schools of her choice, but has yet to decide where she will study.
“I did get all of my college acceptances and I’m keeping them close to the belt as of right now, but I got into every college I applied to,” the thrilled 17-year-old said. “So that’s really exciting. I found all of that out last week. My college plans are all up in the air, but I will choose within the next month.”
The news comes as little surprise considering former First Lady Michelle Obama provided a recommendation letter for the teen’s applications.
“She is very amazing and such a supporter, which is something very surreal to say,” Shahidi told W last month (Mar17).
Shahidi applied to four-year colleges on the east and west coasts of America, including prestigious Ivy League law school Harvard, which is where Michelle’s eldest daughter Malia will attend next year (18).
In an interview with People last October (16), the teen shared her plans to defer college for a year and use the time to focus on work before pursuing a degree.
“I know when Malia Obama announced (she was deferring), she got a lot of slack (sic), but I feel like what’s interesting is I know so many people that are deferring,” she added. “It’s more than to just roam around or just sit down and stare at a wall, but it will also give me an opportunity to work. I’ve been working more than half of my life and that’s always been balanced with school and all of the other responsibilities, so to have a year to focus on work and to focus on specified interests will be nice before I pick a career and choose what I want to study and my life path.”
But Shahidi is eager to begin her college experience.
“I think no matter what, I know that I want to go to college,” she explained. “I know that I’m going to defer a year and I’m willing to have a more unorthodox college experience, but at a certain point I want to be on a campus.
The Minnesota-native, who plans on double-majoring in African American studies and sociology, was honored as a role model to her generation at last month’s (Mar17) 10th annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards.
