This 17-year-old didn’t need to take an SAT to get into college — or even a high school diploma. Malvika Raj Joshi of Mumbai, who long abandoned formal schooling, landed a scholarship to Massachusetts Institute of Technology after her outstanding performance at an annual computer programming competition, according to First Post.Joshi medaled her way to MIT after receiving two silver and one bronze in International Olympiad of Informatics, which caught the eye of the Boston university — despite her not being enrolled in a high school.

The decision to leave the traditional education system was made by her mother Supriya, who believed her daughter’s so-called merit was more significant than her grades. “Malvika was doing well in school but somehow I felt that my children need to be happy. Happiness is more important than conventional knowledge,” Supriya said. Others applauded the Cambridge school for recognizing Joshi’s skills.(nypost.com)…[+]