We’ve spent months wondering where the esteemed First Oldest Daughter would choose to go to college. Would she choose Brown University, where students had to apologize to her after WAY losing their chill over her presence at a party? Would she join the incoming class at NYU’s Tisch school, following up on her interest in film after an internship on the set of Girls?
Nope: “The President and Mrs. Obama announced today that their daughter Malia will attend Harvard University in the fall of 2017 as a member of the Class of 2021,” the White House said in a statement, according to The New York Times. “Malia will take a gap year before beginning school.”
Harvard, of course! This is a decision many of us could have predicted—The most prestigious college in pretty much the entire world (duh), her parents’ law school alma mater, and the choice of several other presidents and presidential children.
Malia’s decision kind of runs counter to advice her mom recently gave to Seventeen magazine: “The one thing I’ve been telling my daughters is that I don’t want them to choose a name,” Michelle Obama said a couple of weeks ago. “I don’t want them to think, ‘Oh I should go to these top schools.’ We live in a country where there are thousands of amazing universities. So, the question is: What’s going to work for you?”
One could argue that there’s no “name” more name-y than Harvard. But obviously there are many reasons why Harvard is considered one of the best schools in the country, and those must be the reasons Malia picked it.
Now that we know where Malia will be headed come fall 2017, we can start getting excited about what she’ll be up to during her sure-to-be-amazing gap year. Congratulations, Malia!