He studies. He reads. He writes. He calculates. He takes AP classes. He attends meeting after meeting. He fills out document after document. He applies. He is accepted.

After two years of hard work, sophomore Kevin Jacob will follow his brother’s footsteps and will study two years at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at the University of North Texas campus to earn his bachelor’s degree.

“I’ll be on the UNT campus in Denton, Texas for two years,” Jacob said. “I will complete my last two years of high school, junior and senior year, and my first two years of college, freshman and sophomore year, all within a time frame of two years.”

Jacob will attend some of the same classes as actual college students and will also be in classes with his fellow peers who are his age. About 200 other students his age will be in the academy with him.

“Being in the college environment with so many other students will be a different environment than Texas High,” Jacob said. “The average class size will be larger and we will attend class in lecture hall classrooms.”

Jacob has taken many AP classes during his first two years of high school and has been involved in many extracurriculars in order to build up his resume and to prepare for the difficulty of the academy.

“I’ve been in preparation for this since the beginning of sophomore year,” Jacob said. “Freshman year, I did some general preparation such as taking the SAT and ACT and taking rigorous courses. However, this year, I have done more specific preparations such as applied for the academy and making sure that my schedule is rigorous enough to meet the requirements of the academy.”

The application process starts online and it includes grade reports, SAT/ACT scores, official school transcripts, lists of extracurriculars, college essays and two recommendation letters. From there, the academy will summon the applicant for an interview process which will be factored into the final decision. Applicants find out in the spring if they were accepted.

“I hope after I graduate from the academy that I will go into Pre-Med and become a medical missionary,” Jacob said. “This whole process has been a lot of hard work, but through determination, prayer and God’s blessing, I have made it and my hard work will pay off.”