Houston student accepted to 4 Ivy League schools

HOUSTON – This fall, a senior at YES Prep Gulfton will be the first in his family to attend college and he has a full ride to Harvard.

Francisco Cernada is a first-generation American, raised by a single mother from Guatemala.

He remembers taking a field trip to UT-Austin in sixth grade and wondering what it would be like to attend college, but also how he would ever be able to afford it.  “And a teacher there told me as long as you work very hard, the cost of college won’t have to be a big issue for you,” Cernada said. “That was a pretty big influential moment for me.”

Ever since that trip, Cernada has dedicated his life to learning, both in and out of the classroom. During his years at YES Prep,he studied for a semester in Washington, D.C.  He was also a member of student council, ran cross-country and played soccer. 

When it came time to apply to colleges, he sent out applications to several "reach schools" -- schools he did not expect would accept him -- including Harvard, Brown, Yale, Dartmouth, University of Chicago and Columbia. He was accepted into Harvard, Brown, Yale and Dartmouth. “I get really excited remembering it,” Cernada said. “It was such a big moment because it just meant a lot to me and my family and because it was the first time that had been done at YES Prep Gulfton.”

He finally decided on Harvard after visiting the campus and falling in love with it. “When I saw Harvard and I saw you could interact not only with the multitude of universities around you, but with the actual city and venture off and explore, I thought that gave me the most space and room for growth,” Cernada said.

He will head to Harvard, where he has a full scholarship, in August. “I think if I could tell every student who is matriculating into a college something it's that there will be opportunity at every campus and there will be great learning, as long as you're willing to go do it,” Cernada said.

For now, he is looking forward to June graduation at YES Prep, where he’ll be class valedictorian.