It's the Ivy League for Lee - NST

KUALA LUMPUR: April 16, 2008 by Ili Liyana Mokhtar

Lee Jia Hui is on cloud nine.
The 19-year-old, from Kajang, is the only Malaysian student to be offered a place in Harvard University this year.Lee, who scored 11 1As in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination, will be sitting the international baccalaureate examination next month.He beat six applicants to win a place in the university, ranked first in the Times World University rankings."It felt surreal. But once reality hit me, I was really excited for myself and my parents," said the International School of Kuala Lumpur student.

Besides the Harvard offer, which comes with full scholarship, he has also received offers to study in several other prestigious universities, including Princeton, Dartmouth and Cornell.He has not decided which university to pick.Lee said he had a broad range of interests, but was most interested in gender studies and politics.

"The recent general election stirred my interest in politics. I hope to come back and help shape the future of politics or academia here," he said at the Malaysian American Commission on Education Exchange.

His parents, bank officer Lee Teck Onn and housewife Tai Yuet Kim, were overjoyed that their eldest son had received so many offers. "I am proud of him," said Tai. "He was always curious and asked countless questions ever since he was 3."