It's the kind of news that prompts a person to dance.

Future Ivy League students Madison Landis and Claire Graybeal were dancing before receiving the impactful information.

Madison will be attending Princeton in the fall, and Claire will matriculate at Cornell. Though their Ivy League ambitions were formed at different stages of life, the recent Solanco High School graduates learned their dreams were being realized in similar circumstances. Madison and Claire both discovered they had been accepted to Ivy League institutions following a dance class.

A year ago, there was no chance Madison would end up at Princeton. She hadn't applied yet because she didn't think it was possible. "I didn't know I wanted to go to Princeton until last August," she said. "I was trying to expand my list of applications with safety schools, target schools, and reach schools. Princeton was one of those schools I added as a reach school."

In December, Madison went home after a dance class, and she opened the application portal with her family watching. "I was really excited," she said. "I wasn't really expecting to get in. I had a little bit of hope, but when I opened it up and refreshed the portal, I saw a big Princeton Tiger on my screen, so I thought maybe I got in. I scrolled down and saw the first word was 'congratulations.'"

Madison is planning to study chemistry with a goal of conducting medical research in a lab.

Claire had her sights set on the Big Red while in middle school. "Cornell has been my dream school since seventh grade," she said. "I decided what I wanted to do, and I looked up the top colleges for my major, and Cornell was No. 1. And I thought, 'That's where I want to go.'"

Claire got the good news after a dance class on Dec. 13, 2024. "I didn't think I was going to get in, so I opened (the portal) up at dance with my friends," she said. "I saw the screen that said I got in, and I said, 'Oh, my gosh!' I was so excited I got in."

Claire will still major in animal science as she planned five years ago, but instead of becoming a zoologist, she is now leaning toward becoming a veterinarian and working with large mammals.

They both agree that their participation in school-related activities helped them get accepted. "I think a lot of it rested on my extracurriculars," said Madison, who was a member of the Renaissance Club, National Honor Society, and French National Honor Society. "I think a big part of it was the Lenfest Scholars Foundation," she added.

Madison was awarded a scholarship after her junior year. "They gave me a recommendation later, and they were the ones that encouraged me to apply to Princeton and different reach schools, so I think they were the push that I needed," she said.

Claire took an esoteric approach. She went online to study what people said Cornell likes to see on applications and based her writing supplements on that research. "Cornell is a huge ag school, which really helped me because I do live on a farm, and I'm in FFA, and I show animals at the fair."

Madison also credits her high school coursework. "The AP classes that Solanco has definitely helps," she said. "I think that prepares for the classes I'll have at Princeton. I also wrote about the Solanco community in my personal essay. So I think that definitely helped me stand out."

Word spread fast once the students were accepted into college. Madison emailed teacher Stephanie Wood first and teacher Bill Johnson the following morning. "By the end of the day, people were asking me if it was true. I don't know how they found out," she said.

Claire immediately told her closest friends. "Everyone has been very supportive," she said.

Madison stated she is thankful for her parents, Michael and Melissa, and teachers Jake Bongiovanni and Jessica Tipping. "Madison is one of the most driven and diligent students I have had," said Bongiovanni. "She sets a high standard for herself and continually pushes herself to achieve success. Madison never worked for accolades, but she worked hard because she saw the value in what she was doing and where she wanted to go."

Claire is grateful for her parents, Byron and Carol, as well as Bongiovanni and teacher Caley Roark. Bongiovanni wrote letters of recommendation for both Madison and Claire.

"It was a joy to have Claire in class and get to know her," said Bongiovanni. "She is hardworking, driven, and outgoing. Claire was very invested and involved in the FFA program at school, and she knew that her investment in her academics would benefit her in her passion with agriculture. Claire had a desire to achieve success, and she put in the work to achieve that success."

Scott Long is a proud principal. "It's definitely a great accomplishment," he said. "I think it shows that no matter where you are, there are programs available, and if you take advantage of it, you can do anything. We have a lot of cool stories from this senior class. We're pretty excited for two of them to go to the Ivy League."