Tristan Applegate had not planned to drop out of high school shortly after his 16th birthday, but that is exactly what he will do after receiving an offer of admission from the University of Washington Honors Program.

Applegate applied to UW via the Robinson Center for Young Scholars UW Academy, a selective program that accepts up to 35 academically gifted 10th grade students each year. UW Academy students do not receive high school diplomas, but instead matriculate directly as UW freshmen and are admitted to the University Honors Program, one of the premier honors programs in the country. This year, the UW freshman, sophomore and junior medals, awarded annually to the UW students in each class with the highest cumulative academic standing, all went to students who had entered the university early through the Robinson Center program.

“I wasn’t sure at first whether I wanted to go to UW, as I had originally planned to attend a rigorous engineering school such as MIT or Harvey Mudd,“ Applegate said.

“But upon closer examination, UW offers plenty of rigor if you choose the right courses. In fact, the UW honors classes are comparable in rigor to the best private schools, but at a fraction of the cost.”

Cost won’t be an immediate concern for Applegate, as he was one of the six incoming students who were awarded academic merit scholarships by the UW Academy.

From his home in Clinton, Applegate currently attends the Stanford University Online High School. This past winter, he traveled to the Silicon Valley to compete on his high school’s Science Bowl team, and he was also one of the four finalists chosen from Western Washington to compete in the National Chemistry Olympiad.

Applegate will take his passion for science to UW, where he intends to major in Materials Science & Engineering.

“I want to participate in UW’s world renowned research while I am an undergraduate,” Applegate said.

“My long-term goal is to develop a more cost-effective photovoltaic [solar] cell and thereby help address global warming.”