By Blair Emerson

blair.emerson@startribune.com

As it turns out, there's more than one student in Minnesota faced with a choice of which Ivy League school to attend.

Alexander Roman, 17, a senior at Harding Senior High School on St. Paul's East Side, was accepted to all eight Ivy League schools — and then some. Starting in January, the acceptance letters have been pouring in. In all, he's been accepted to 20 colleges and universities across the country.

"At first I was hesitant [to apply to 20 schools], because it just seemed kind of like a lot," he said. "But then I kind of got encouraged by many people to kind of just [apply to] the schools that I think I would enjoy myself at."

Alexander said he couldn't believe it when he started getting accepted to big name schools like Harvard and Yale. "The first reaction I had, especially the Harvard one, was like, 'Is this really happening?'" he said. "Right away I told my family, 'We're going to go out to eat!'"

They got Chinese.

Alexander said he's currently weighing his options and plans to do several college tours in the coming months to find the best fit. He took a summer program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology during his junior year and enrolled in a few courses, including calculus and physics. After the program, Alexander said his interests grew in fields like the sciences and math, but he said he still plans to explore other subjects.

At Harding, Alexander is involved with the Knight Crew -- a student group that helps younger students make the transition to high school, and the Genius Squad, a tech help group. Alexander also played as the starting first baseman for the school's baseball team until his junior year. He is a youth leader at his church.

Alexander said he will be the first in his family to graduate from college. Alexander's father was a teenager when he emigrated from Mexico. Alexander said his dad's excitement has grown with each acceptance letter.

"Just the first [letter] he was really excited … and then right after that getting the Harvard one he was really ecstatic because it really is a really big deal," Alexander said.

Ralph Alexander, the director of Harding's College and Career Center, said in his 12 years on the job he's never seen a student get accepted to all Ivy League schools. "He's the consummate perfect kid to have this happen to," he said.

Blair Emerson is a University of Minnesota student reporter on assignment for the Star Tribune.