Two Malaysian Students Beat Out 38,000 People to Get into Harvard

Aqil Azmi from Shah Alam city and Zad Chin Qi Qi from Ipoh city, Malaysia have secured their spots at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, according to the press release the Harvard Club of Malaysia posted online by member Nadiah Wan on May 20 via Malay Mail.

Aqil and Zad are both pursuing A-levels at Kolej Yayasan UEM (KYUEM) in Lembah Beringin, Selangor. They are also recipients of scholarships from two organizations.

“I remember I was in the car going to get breakfast at that time and I was too scared to check it, so I asked my sister to help me,” Zad, who finished her secondary education at SMJK Ave Maria Convent, told Malay Mail. “At first, my sister tried to prank me by telling me I got rejected until I read the letter and found out I actually got accepted! We were all shouting in the car!”

“It’s been 5 months since I got the offer but that moment at 8 a.m. on a Friday when I sujud syukur and cried after checking my email still sticks in my mind as one of the most surreal moments of my life,” Aqil, a second education graduate of Sekolah Agama Menengah Tinggi Tengku Ampuan Jemaah, said in his tweet.

Aqil plans to major in mathematics and philosophy while Zad will major in Computer Science and Social Studies. However, before her admission to Harvard, Zad had already involved herself in robotics and technology competitions.

“Aqil and Zad impressed us very much during the interview session with their intellectual curiosity, maturity, drive and desire to make an impact in society,” Wan, who is the CEO of Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara and Group CEO of TMC Life Sciences Berhad, said via Mashable. “We believe that not only will they benefit tremendously from the opportunities available to them at Harvard, they will also be significant contributors to the Harvard community.”

“Both Nadiah and I enjoyed our interviews with Aqil and Zad and we knew that these two were not just brilliant students but also youth with an enormous potential to impact the world they are in,” Nick Khaw, another member of Harvard Club of Malaysia, said. “We wish them heartiest congratulations and we hope that their journey at Harvard will be a valuable experience in shaping them to be the great people we know they can be and to be inspirations for other young Malaysians.”

There are reportedly 40,428 applicants for Harvard’s class of 2024 and only 1,980 applicants were accepted.

While the admission rate of Harvard University is already selective enough at 4.9%, only 10.8% of that is actually made of international students.

Feature Image via MalayMail