With President Barack Obama’s daughter’s high school graduation date looming on the horizon, 17-year-old Malia Obama is continuing her college hunt in New York where she could possibly go on to follow in her father’s footsteps at Columbia University.
Despite all the bizarre fuss that spawned from a snapshot of Malia in a t-shirt, the president’s daughter is moving on to focus on the same hunt that the average soon-to-be high school graduate will be embarking on soon.
Malia and First Lady Michelle Obama were spotted touring New York University and Columbia University, President Obama’s alma mater, on Friday as students shared their excitement of their potential new presidential classmate on social media.
From snapshots of the First Lady at brunch with her daughter near Columbia’s campus to the fleet of large black SUVs for the Secret Service agents that followed their every move, images of Malia and Michelle’s visit were clear signs of how excited the community was at the prospect of having Malia on campus in 2016.
There is no guarantee she will pick either of the schools in the Big Apple, especially since she was also spotted touring Stanford and the University of California-Berkeley in the past, but they are certainly two strong contenders for Malia since her father claimed that she wants to be a filmmaker.
Some reports have also suggested that she visited Barnard College as well during her New York college hunt.
While her final decision may be unclear, there is one thing that people can safely bet on: Whichever school Malia decides to attend will likely see a dramatic spike in applications.
Malia’s consideration of the schools alone could be enough to boost their popularity among other high school students embarking on college hunts of their own this year.
Students spot First Lady Michelle Obama at brunch near Columbia during Malia’s college hunt
Credit: Instagram/Geetika Rudra
Either way, the schools will likely be anxiously awaiting the presidential daughter’s decision.
Malia isn’t the first teen to be making the transition to college while her father was president, but there is something a little more unique about her circumstances.
While other first kids, like Chelsea Clinton and the Bush twins, went to college in the middle of their father’s time in office, Malia’s college transition will actually happen at the end of President Obama’s term.
Of course, that still won’t subtract from who she is and the clear advantage she will have over other applicants.
“Given the educational attainment of the parents, which is exceptional in itself, I can only assume she is going to be a bright and well-qualified student,” David Hawkins, an official at the National Association for College Admission Counseling, told the Chicago Tribune. “When you add to that who she is, all of that makes her a desirable candidate for pretty much any college.”
Malia will be graduating from Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. next year and the president has already been preparing to send his daughter off.
“Part of the reason I’m here is because I’ve got to practice because Malia is graduating in two years,” he said during a commencement speech last year at Worcester Technical High School. “So I’m trying to get used to not choking up and crying and embarrassing her.”
