High school student Victoria Mathieu applied to 17 colleges this year. Her dream school was an Ivy in her home state: the University of Pennsylvania.
The 18-year-old senior at Bensalem High School, who also goes by Tori, hoped her weighted 4.36 GPA, extensive afterschool activities list, summer legal internship and outside advocacy work would be enough to attract interest from the prestigious college.
But she was also realistic, she said. The odds of being accepted into an Ivy League school are slim for even the brightest and most well-rounded of the high achievers. Penn admits only approximately 5% of those who apply for its undergraduate programs.
Imagine her surprise - shock is a better word - when she learned that she was accepted into Penn.
There were 14 other schools that accepted her as well, including four other Ivy League universities, two of them with even lower acceptance rates.
"It's a blessing. I'm above the moon right now," she said. "I almost feel like it's still not real because it's something I never expected to happen."
The teen's reaction to learning of her windfall was captured in what has become a viral TikTok video generating more than 5 million views since it was posted March 27, known to some as "Ivy Day."
The nearly four-minute video shows Victoria and her family crowded around the laptop on the kitchen island as she opened each letter in her college portal.
First, she learned she was accepted into Columbia University, which wasn't a total surprise. She received a letter notifying her that she was likely accepted into their prestigious legal scholars program.
Dartmouth University was next, where she was waitlisted.
"That's not bad," she said.
Cornell University and Brown University were her second and third acceptances, generating screams and whoops.
"I got into ... Oh my God. This is not real," she said as the acceptances came in.
"You're lying. You're lying. Oh my God," she said, "I got into Yale. I got into Yale. I got into Yale. Go Bulldogs."
"What. Is. Happening?" Tori said.
Last, Harvard University, where she was waitlisted.
The only Ivy League school that Victoria neglected was Princeton University (sorry, Tigers). She said she ran out of time to submit an application.
Her parents said they suspected another reason.
"We think it's because it's too close to home," Pierre Mathieu said.
Victoria is one of five of Bensalem seniors this year accepted into one of the eight Ivy League colleges, a new school record, guidance counselor Dayna Harrison said.
But Victoria is the first student to be accepted into five and waitlisted for two others.
"She is unheard of. She is a unicorn," Harrison said. "It's one of the greatest achievements I've seen in my career."
Harrison described Victoria, who ranks seventh in her class of 611, as a fiery spirit, a go-getter with a work ethic that few her age possess.
In addition to a flawless GPA, she sits on the high school's mock trial team. During her junior year Victoria founded a local chapter of a global high school honors legal society at the high school. Last summer she interned for Legal Aid Southeastern Pennsylvania.
She serves as a Bensalem School Board student representative, as well as captain of the Step Dance Team she founded, and the Reading Olympics team at the high school.
She is a Pennsylvania global ambassador for ReSoap Foundation, a youth-led nonprofit fighting hygiene poverty and climate change. She is a member of the high school's DECA chapter, which is dedicated to preparing students for business careers.
In her spare time, she also founded Still I Shine, a virtual community support group for Black high school-age girls dealing with "colorism" - discrimination against people with a dark skin tone within the same ethnic or racial groups.
"She is going to change the world," Harrison said. "I keep telling her mom, I want her to run the world."
The oldest of four, Victoria takes her studies seriously - maybe a bit too seriously, said her mother, Tina.
"We didn't push Victoria. She pushed herself," Tina said. "If she gets a B, she is crying. It's like the end of the world. She'll be crying for an A-."
She and her husband instill in their children the importance of a good education.
Pierre came to the United States from his native Haiti at age 18. Tina immigrated with her family from Nigeria when she was 10.
The couple met at Philadelphia Community College, where Pierre was Tina's math tutor. He later graduated from Bucknell University, and she from Temple University.
They both believe that education is the best way for immigrants like themselves to improve their lives and financial stability, Tina said.
Added Pierre: "Our belief is that education opens doors."
With so many doors opened wide for her now, Victoria picked Yale University over Penn, specifically for its law school. She has aspiration for a legal career.
At a visit for incoming Yale freshman in April, when Victoria introduced herself, the admissions officer hugged her. The woman told Victoria her essay left a deep impression on her.
While they could not be more proud of their daughter and her accomplishments, her parents know there is more hard work ahead for her.
"This is only the beginning," Pierre said.
Victoria said to see her years of dedication and hard work pay off in such abundance has been rewarding. It's inspired her to find a way to pay it forward by helping to empower others.
"When I got my acceptance, one of the first things I thought about is, 'Wow, because I did it, I can tell the people it's possible,'" she said. "A lot of girls, particularly Black girls I know, who don't think that it's possible for them, to have them get into one. I feel like I can kind of be that light for them."
Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com.