So, he's highly intelligent, has a good work ethic, participated in several social groups including Model UN, and has a family background that makes him appealing to college recruiters.... I'm failing to see why this is a big news story. Surely other kids with the same background have pulled off getting all the Ivy Leagues to chase him. I'm not bitter or jealous, just very cynical.

Good for him though. Makes me a bit sad that he wants to become a politician. However, he'll have a very bright future ahead of him...as long as he doesn't discover girls or drinking.

And as for crediting some of it to not using all the social networking sites, you could say the same of anyone a decade ago.

Lukasz, you don't need silly old MIT anyway. screw them!

I know this isn't the point of the story, but it really bugs me for some reason that he felt the need to apply to 21 schools. I mean, why? By the time you apply, you have to have narrowed your choices down at least a bit. He's obviously smart enough to know he could get accepted almost anywhere. If he wants to apply to the seven Ivy Leagues and one or two back ups, fine. But 14 back ups? It just seems like a waste of application fees.

@ladypenguin
Hmm, but with the ivy league schools there's never a guarantee. You can be perfect, but so are all the other people applying. I was rejected by columbia :'(
But I think you have a point. He probably just wanted to see how many he could get into

Move over Tucker Carlson, here comes Lukasz!

I saw the video on MSNBC.com and thought it was cool that he got into a lot of great schools. I read in the Wall Street Journal last year that more and more kids in high school have to apply to so many schools because competition is getting stiff out there. According to the article it's not just about grades anymore so it seems to be a trend for kids to apply to so many. Hey - you gotta do what you gotta do.

I think he is weird and probably has no social skills. Bury your head in a book Lukasz.

i am just waiting for someone to come along and start in with the 'bootstraps' argument... pointing out that this guy didn't have anything handed to him, didn't even know the language, and yet he was able to accomplish this amazing feat. but that's just it. it's amazing. he's one of a kind. that's why it's newsworthy. also, in keeping with our racism discussion yesterday ... this flies in the face of all those polish jokes, no?

oh i'm also waiting for someone to create a fake myspace page for him. now THAT would be funny.

thats right man, representing my polack brethren!

geez lauren so much hostility for him.

Eh, I am sick of the annoying academic nerds with no social skills... that I want to go to Harvard hahahahhaa

Why are people so quick to put down or criticize people who are successful or have certain accomplishments?

Good for him. He obviously has a goal in mind and he's working towards it. he's motivated and that is great.

Although I'm sure it's not the first time, it's just the first time it's been publicized. and I agree with verily, I don't think contributing his success to not using social networking sites is very accurate since 10+ years ago they didn't exist.

Wow, this is great. He looks like a baby. When our youth do good - we should focus on the good and not be negative. At least he is not on line terriorizing someone or standing on the corner selling. We should applaud that he has the go getter attitude and he wants to do something with his life.

bella, I agree with you that when our youth do good we should focus on the good and not the negative. And I'll also add that if that were the case, the newspapers and news shows would be very different today if they did that, because our youth do more good things than bad every day, but it doesn't sell papers, or get the ratings. I'm very proud of many of our youth today and wish their actions were more publicized instead of all the trash that's reported.

Exactly, Bella. Well-put!

Personally, I am tired of reading and watching the news to hear about a teen dying of alcohol poisoning, killing themselves b/c of some Internet sh*t or prank. I just think it is more stories that should be shown. Some kids are lost and need some hope, I believe this young man gives hope to children that think they can't - it makes them believe that odds can be against you and you can go beyond. Some kids do not have parents that are encouraging and they have no one in their lives. You never know this can be a story they may run across.

Good for him! This year there were more people applying to college than ever before and even at my school where everyone in my class were overachievers, a lot of people didn't get into schools they would have gotten in a couple of years ago.

I had heard he didn't want to apply to the Ivy schools because he was afraid of needles.

You have to say it out loud. Ivy = I.V. ... as in intravenous.

He's Polish.

whatever.

I second your comments, Bella! I feel so proud of him and I don't even know him! LOL!

"I had heard he didn't want to apply to the Ivy schools because he was afraid of needles."

For some reason I thought of this, rac:

"These are OR scrubs."

"OH ARE they?"

I love Rushmore! Great movie.

...aaaand I knew you'd get that reference, somehow. One of my favorites!

Excellent and might I ad the no-TV factor...goood boy. If I ever have kids they'll be lucky if they ever see a TV with the crap that's on it now.

And you write this with a cartoon fictional character icon, hypno. If you're going to decry the evils of television, do it with a Marshall McLuhan icon.

Eeyore is a pretty bad influence, lazy depressed overwieght

Doskanale!

Aww.. Eeyore can't help his chemical imbalance. There is not Prozac of Zoloft in the Hundred Acre Woods.

Wow. Type much? There isn't Zoloft or Prozac in the Hundred Acre Woods.

Well I hear there's plenty of shrooms in the Hundred Acre Woooood.

Congrats to him, but I just wish he didn't apply to that many schools. He took away a spot for another student, that might of had that school as their first choice. I only applied to 6 schools, and I thought that was enough!

And secondly, although he may be involved in extracurricular, he doesn't seam to have a social life. When applying to many schools they stress the importance of being well rounded, which if he lacks social skills, he is lacking being able to communicate well with his peers, which is very important in college!

Even so that's pretty impressive. Some girl from my school got into all the ivies, MIT, Olin, and Stanford, and she ended up going to Stanford, dropping out because she was homesick and now shes going to Culinary school.

I think this is very impressive but I do feel it is a bit of a concern that he has limited social skills. Social skills are what helps you to become a good leader...there is a lot to be said for interaction with peers.

I'm concerened that many here are presuming that he has no social life. It does state that he is not into the likes of myspace and facebook but let us not forget that pre internet people socialized just fine.

Far as I can see, just because he doesn't use Myspace or Lolbook doesn't mean there is a damn thing wrong with his social life.

Sounds like he has priorities, and the willpower to aim straight for them. If he's focused, that makes him nothing but focused and implies bugger all about his "social life".

Generalisations are fail.

Besides, a "life" on the internet is not a social life by definition...take it from me. Its very easy to confuse the two, and people do it all the time, sadly. I don't use Facebook. I don't need to. I have real life friends, and that works great for me. I save the "networking" for my work, thanks very much.

Besides, I love geeks! My charming, sweet boyfriend is a geek! And some of the geekiest, most driven guys I know are actually very social, amiable and fun people with loads of interests and their own brand of charm.

As for Lukasz, well....I think he applied to too many schools, but he's hardly unattractive, just needs a few years on him, looks too young! Good on him, for being someone that knows what he wants, and is going for it.

Aww, wow, how awesome!

What a typical prestigious college student.. I have a friend who's going to Harvard this year and he has to give up his social life to be able to focus at school but um.... I think he has a facebook even though he's barely there. Lol

It's cool and everything that he got into a lot of great colleges even with the challenges that faced him but I've heard kids from his old skool talk about him and i have personally had class with him before, and (according to kids from old skool) he was always anti social and had no friends. He also talked down to people like he was better than them (i personally have seen this). He was also a great Hitler lover. I know Hitler was a great leader in what he was capable of doing and the control he was able to gain over the people, but what he did with that power was wrong and should not defended. Well Lukasz doesn't see it that way and is constantly defending that man.