Chicago high school senior accepted to 6 Ivy League colleges
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Payton Pitts, 18, is getting ready to graduate from Francis Parker School in Chicago, which he has attended since kindergarten, and his future is starting to take shape now that Ivy Day is here.
"It was a weight off my shoulders because everyone knows that's the day where the last few decision come out," he said.
Ivy Day is when Ivy League schools reveal which students are admitted to their prestigious institutions. Pitts applied to six Ivys and got yeses across the board.
"I got accepted to Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Penn, Columbia and Cornell," Pitts said.
WATCH: Payton Pitts speaks with ABC7 about college acceptances
"I'm not aware of a student, particularly from Parker, who has that sort of success in the Ivy Leagues," said his mother Adrienne Pitts.
Adrienne Pitts said her son has always had a drive to succeed. He's a straight-A student, a star basketball player and excels at playing the violin. He's also emerged as a leader, reviving the school's Black Student Union a couple years ago.
"I think them having a place to come and build a sort of camaraderie between Black students and Parker, which is a primarily white school, would help," Pitts said.
Pitts was also accepted to Stanford, Morehouse College and several other universities. His principal said any of those schools would be fortunate to have him.
"What comes through is his warmth, his insight, and his humility about all of his achievements, his successes and the respect he has for his classmates, teammates and teachers," said Principal Dan Frank.
"This is all going to be a little embarrassing for him, but he's earned this with all his hard work and dedication," Adrienne Pitts said.
Surprisingly, Pitts said he does not have a top choice school in mind at this time. He plans to visit all the campuses when spring break is over and then make his decision.
