May 6, 2005

Preuss School Seniors Record 91%
Acceptance Rate At Four-Year Colleges

By Pat JaCoby

It’s a long way from the quiet Vietnamese village of Cu-Chi to the hectic halls of Harvard, but diminutive Hue Le, a senior at the Preuss School at the University of California, San Diego, has made the trip with poise and confidence.

Tapped to represent her graduating class as valedictorian, the 18-year-old with a straight A record was accepted at the four colleges to which she applied—Stanford, Harvard, Swarthmore and the University of Pennsylvania. She flew to visit each of them, courtesy of the host campuses, and selected Harvard, where she has scholarships to cover most of her $45,000 yearly tuition. To augment her finances, she’s signed on as member of a crew to help clean Harvard dorms before school starts.

Le arrived in San Diego directly from Viet Nam at the age of six, and rapidly learned English. She speaks Vietnamese at her City Heights home with her father, who works in a Vietnamese restaurant, and her mother, a homemaker, and serves as their interpreter when needed.

Le entered Preuss School in the eighth grade and says “it has given me such a vast array of educational opportunities, and opened so many doors for me. I’ve had the chance to participate in summer study programs since my freshman year. I’ve had the chance to meet people and make many connections.”

At Harvard, she’s interested in studying neurobehavior or psychology and dreams of becoming a pediatrician or family physician.

Her background and achievements represent her similarly high-achieving 74 senior classmates at the Preuss School, which admits only students who qualify for federal meal assistance and whose parents have not graduated from a four year college.

A remarkable 68 students in the 75-member class (91 percent) were admitted to four-year colleges, and of this 57 students (76 percent) were admitted to UC campuses, including 22 to UCSD. “Considering that the UC system’s mission is to recruit the top 12.4 percent of each graduating class, the fact that 76 percent of our seniors were admitted to a UC campus speaks volumes about their academic preparation and comprehensive profile,” noted Carol Sobek, Preuss School head counselor.

A total 25 students (33 percent) of the graduating class were admitted to private universities, including Boston University, Chapman, Colby, Colgate, Grinnell, Hampton, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Point Loma Nazarene, University of Redlands, University of Rochester, University of San Diego, University of San Francisco, Spelman, Stanford, Swarthmore, Syracuse, Tuskegee, University of Virginia, Whittier, Worchester and Xavier.

“When you consider that 91 percent of our graduating class has been admitted to a four year college and five percent were dually admitted to the community college-UC program, you begin to appreciate how prepared and competitively eligible our students are. A 96 percent college acceptance mirrors that of the most affluent schools in our city and state,” said Doris Alvarez, Preuss School principal.

Cecil Lytle, provost of UCSD’s Thurgood Marshall College and a founding father of the charter school, added that “the parents and students of this and last year’s graduating class demonstrate an adaptation of the age-old adage that, ‘if you build it, they will perform.’ Students and parents alike have met the academic challenge of Preuss School and the University of California, San Diego. We are extremely proud of their accomplishments and the high academic standards of their teachers.”

Preuss School graduation ceremonies will be held July 7 at the school.

Media Contact: Pat JaCoby, (858) 534-7404