Kwasi Enin picks Yale University; LI student was accepted to all 8 Ivy League schools

It's Yale.

Kwasi Enin, the William Floyd High School scholar-athlete who had the enviable dilemma of selecting any of the eight Ivy League schools to attend, said he's ready for the challenge that his top choice has to offer.

"I'm not intimidated by the school very much," he said in revealing he will go to Yale University -- the New Haven, Connecticut, school consistently ranked among the world's best.

"There's always that shock factor for most college kids -- the world's bigger than I thought it was. There are a lot more smart kids than I thought there were, compared to me. But I'm ready for that," he said.

Enin, 17, of Shirley, announced his choice Wednesday at a news conference in the gym of his Mastic Beach high school.

"He's a credit to himself, his family, our high school, our school district and our community," said Paul Casciano, superintendent of the William Floyd school district.

Principal Barbara Butler said Enin "exemplifies the greatness in William Floyd."

"I have been able to watch Kwasi grow from an energetic, enthusiastic sixth-grader to a poised, humble, gifted young man," Butler said.

Enin made international headlines in March after he learned he had been accepted to Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale -- all members of the Ivy League. He also was accepted to Binghamton University, Duke University, Stony Brook University and SUNY Geneseo.

"I narrowed down my choice of schools quickly," he said, after revisiting Penn, Yale and Princeton earlier this month. "I find Yale's student body very friendly and energetic."

Academics aside, money was a factor in Enin's choice. Yale, he said, offered the most generous financial aid package, though not a full ride.

The university's instructional ethos already has had a concrete effect, he said.

Enin, who said his heart is set on becoming a doctor and possibly practicing in Ghana, where his parents were born, said he decided to major in biomedical engineering after hearing a lecture on the subject while touring Yale last week.

"I only hope he will be an inspiration to all kids, that with hard work and dedication, they can all make it to his level," said his mother, Doreen Enin, at the news conference with her husband, Ebenezer Enin, their daughter, Adwoa, and school officials.