Ahmed Muhammad, who made history by becoming Oakland Technical High’s first Black male valedictorian, has been accepted into 11 universities.
Ivy League schools Harvard, Princeton, UC Berkeley and Stanford, are among the colleges vying for Muhammad’s acceptance. College acceptances have also come from Columbia University, the University of Southern California, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, UC Davis and Howard University.
He has been offered financial aid at all 11 universities.
Muhammad, who earned the highest academic rank in his class, finishes his four years at Tech with a cumulative 4.73-grade point average and is on track for a 5.0 GPA for his senior year. The young prodigy also received a score of 1540 with a perfect 800 in the Math section and a 740 in the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section.
“It feels amazing. I’m grateful to be accepted to any single college, but 11 of them? I had never imagined this,” Muhammad told KTVU.
He’s also a budding entrepreneur.
Last year, Muhammad founded Kits Cubed, a team of dedicated students committed to introducing youth to the wonders of science through fun, affordable, and accessible means.
“I’m most proud of the impact that Kits Cubed has had on our community’s youth,” he added of his science education company, which he started out of his garage a year ago.
“Founding Kits Cubed was the culmination of all of the valuable lessons I learned throughout high school from so many amazing people,” Muhammad said, and I’m glad we were able to create something meaningful before graduating.”
Muhammad cites Oakland Tech alumnus Akintunde Ahmad as one of his role models. Ahmad attended Yale after graduating with a 5.0 GPA. KTVU
“Akintunde’s story helped show me what’s possible,” Muhammad said, “and I hope that my story can serve as another stepping stone for Oakland kids. I hope they see that they can accomplish all that I have accomplished and much more.”
He credits his parents for his success, who worked hard to ensure their son succeeded at the highest level. His father worked as a fire captain who spent three decades years with the Oakland Fire Department.
“He’s taught me everything that I know and continues to teach me each and every day,” the teen said. “By watching him I’ve learned what wisdom, hard work, passion, commitment, caring, and so many other values are, and I hope that one day I can be as great of a son as he is a father.”
