Haley Taylor Schlitz, a college senior at Texas Women’s University, has been accepted into nine law schools. The 16-year-old appeared on Good Morning America Thursday and shared her educational journey.
The road to excellence was a challenging one for the teen. She struggled in a traditional classroom setting. Her parents decided to homeschool her in the fifth grade once they noticed a decline in her grades.
“I started to become more worried about what my peers thought of me rather than my grades, and so my parents decided to pull me out. That and I couldn’t get into the gifted and talented program, and then they homeschooled me,” the Texas native said.
Being taken out of a traditional classroom provided Schlitz the opportunity to soar academically. “Home school really helped me accelerate and go at my own pace, and then I was able to graduate home school high school at 13, and now I’m 16 and a senior [in college].”
Schlitz’s academic experience played a large role in her decision to pursue law. “It was really my entire educational journey. After looking at it, it really sparked a flame in me to help other students and fight for equity,” she said.
She is slated to graduate with a bachelor of science in interdisciplinary studies in May, according to her website. This summer, she will attend a six-day program with the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington, D.C.
The 16-year-old isn’t the only success story in her family. “My brother is a 13-year-old freshman in college; my sister is an 11-year-old freshman in high school,” she revealed.
Schlitz, a newly licensed driver, revealed she’ll be driving herself to Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, from which she received “a nice scholarship,” in the fall. “It’s close enough for me to commute; I want to stay at home with my family,” she said.
She was accepted into law programs at Howard University, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Texas Southern University, among others, Texas Lawyer reports.
