18yo Makes History By Being The Only M'sian To Enter Harvard In 2026 | WeirdKaya

An 18-year-old has made Malaysia proud by being the only local candidate to be accepted by one of the world’s most highly sought-after educational insitutions.

Khow Jin Xen, along with two others, were among those who were shortlisted but emerged as the only one to successfully be accepted into Harvard University.

Low expectations

Speaking to The Star, Khow said he initially had no plans to apply for Harvard University but eventually decided to give it a shot due to its prestige.

He added that he didn’t exactly have an extensive record of extracurricular activities that would cause admissions officers to turn heads.

“I really just loved exploring and identifying issues in Malaysia, finding what I was passionate about and what I really wanted to solve.

Accepted

To Khow’s surprise, the stars decided to align for him in the form of confetti being shown on the “check status” tab in Harvard University’s application portal, which signals a successful admission.

Aside from Harvard, the Puchong native also received offers from Yale, Princeton, Stanford, the University of California, Berkeley, Imperial College London and the University of Bath.

Hopes to contribute to M’sia

Khow, who will be leaving for Harvard in August, will be pursuing a Bachelor of Arts and hopes to major in physics and economics.

He added that he looks forward to bringing back the knowledge acquired from the Ivy League university back to Malaysia.

“I hope to continue exploring contemporary global issues through different perspectives and Harvard’s breadth will allow me to take a wide range of in-depth courses with world-leading professors.

“Being a Malaysian, I’m excited at the prospect of contributing to groundbreaking global research and bringing it back to solve local issues.”

Congratulations to Khow on being accepted by Harvard and we wish him all the best!

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