Four African-American brothers -- quadruplets -- have each gotten accepted into at least two Ivy League schools, per a report by NBC News. The young men (Nigel, Zach, Aaron, and Nick Wade) all hail from Ohio, and they have a unique nickname these days: the "Ivy League Quads."
Yale and Harvard Universities both accepted each young man
The brothers indicated that they were all at track practice when they got the news that they had been accepted into two of the most prestigious schools in the country -- Yale and Harvard University. It's rare enough that a single ambitious student gets into at least one school -- with acceptance rates at 6.3% and 5.4% respectively, over 90% of kids don't stand a chance.
So one can only imagine what it means for four young black men from the same family to get into both institutions -- the feat is nothing short of other-worldly. In recounting the events on acceptance day, the quadruplets' mother claimed she was practically overwhelmed -- especially when she received the text from the boys while she was working.
However, having instilled the importance and necessity of education in the young men at an early age, everyone in the family knew they were destined for great things.
Brothers say 'active learning' is key to success
In describing his outlook on getting good grades and being successful in high school, Aaron Wade told reporters that their goal had always been to "be active learners, not just, you know, grade chasers." This is an important observation made at an early age.
While so many educational programs seem to over-stress the importance of test scores and perfect GPA's, students with potentially bright futures seem to sometimes forget that learning should be, first and foremost, a fun and rewarding experience.
Parents Kim and Darrin Wade stressed having a 'can do' attitude at an early age
The boys' parents, Kim and Darrin, are both products of higher education -- the mother, a principal, and the father, an engineer. Kim says the most important advice she gave her sons as they matured into young men was to never "let them say they can't do something." Needless to say, that advice paid off.
In addition to being accepted to the Ivy Leagues, NBC News reports that the brothers also individually got into a swath of other prestigious schools: Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Duke, Georgetown, and Cornell are all among the universities that sent acceptance letters to at least one of the Wade's.
The 18-year-olds are still deciding where they want to spend the next four years of their lives, and it remains to be seen whether or not they will split up, or embark on their college adventures as a collective.
