Twins From Hoboken Bound For 2 Top Ivy League Colleges: See Where

HOBOKEN, NJ — College admissions has become more competitive than before, but students from Hoboken High School are making the grade.

This year, a senior at the school has been accepted to Harvard University — and her twin sister is heading to Cornell.

Seniors Madison and Morgan Walia-Peters, who grew up in the mile-square city and attended the public schools, are going — respectively — to Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., and Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y.

In recent years, Harvard — one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious universities — accepted fewer than 4 percent of applicants. Cornell admitted an estimated 7.5 percent. (Neither college has publicly revealed their admissions rate for the next freshman class.)

The twins have both been involved in research while still in high school, and are officers with the student council.

Madison has served as a research assistant to a Ph.D. student at the Stevens Institute of Technology. Morgan, a governor's STEM scholar, developed an insole for shoes that could help detect early signs of cognitive decline, hoping it will contribute to Alzheimer's research.

The pair each took more than 15 Advanced Placement courses at Hoboken High, and did well on their SATs.

"I think the biggest thing is having a strong passion for something," said Morgan, talking about the college admissions process, "and taking leadership to have an impact. I think that's what makes students stand out."

The pair have lived in Hoboken for all of their lives, although their parents lived in Australia and Malaysia before coming to the United States.

Hoboken And The Ivy League

Each of them applied to more than a dozen schools, something common today for students who want to maximize their options. Morgan was accepted to other top schools, including UC Berkeley, UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, and competitive Australian colleges including the University of Sydney. Madison was also accepted to several other top schools, including Cornell and the University of Michigan, and was wait-listed at Princeton University.

Both intend to continue with scientific research in college. Madison said she wants to be pre-med, but will study the history of science, not just biology.

Madison noted that some of her Hoboken High classmates have also been accepted to highly competitive colleges this year, and that school provides numerous opportunities to shine, offering Advanced Placement courses early on.

Last year, a student was accepted to Yale from the school. READ MORE: Yale, Williams, Rutgers On List Of Hoboken High School College Acceptances

And students have gone from Hoboken High to several other Ivy League colleges. Valedictorian Rowan Ellison headed to Brown University in 2022 and Jared Ramos attended Princeton in the late 1990s.

The Pact

The twins said that they will probably visit each other in college, but they had made a pact before applying.

They've been together since elementary and Hoboken Middle School (where they won a national physics competition).

"We both made a pact we would go to different colleges," Madison said. "We spend every waking moment with each other. We want to become independent. What better time to do it than college?"