Red Cloud High School senior Veronica Watters has a choice to make.

The 18-year-old student from Pine Ridge has until Monday to decide whether to attend Yale, Princeton, Duke or Dartmouth universities - an opportunity that trumps the latest statistics on Ivy League college acceptance rates.

According to U.S. News & World Reports, Yale University in Connecticut has an acceptance rate of 7 percent; Princeton University in New Jersey is 10 percent, and Duke University in North Carolina is 23 percent.

And only about one percent of those accepted are Native American.

Watters, who carries a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average at Red Cloud and wrote two essays for each application, can hardly believe it herself.

"It was a shock, really," she said.

Wherever she attends, Watters plans to earn a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and then continue in medical school and become a surgeon.

"When I was a kid, I dreamed about attending college, of studying to be a doctor and taking care of others as my lifelong career," she said.

Gina Ferguson, director of student advancement at Red Cloud, said she noticed early on Watters' passion for the sciences and her positive outlook on life.

"This year's senior class is made up of many bright and competitive students," Ferguson said. "Veronica has been an inspiration to her classmates and those that will come to this school after her."

During Watters' tenure at Red Cloud, she has been a bio-medical research intern at the National Institute of Health in Maryland and has spent many summers in classes and workshops at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in Rapid City. She also takes time to volunteer with youth programs, including a peewee basketball team.

Watters recently visited Duke and Princeton, which gave her a taste of what it will be like off the reservation and in a new environment.

"I like the thought that I'll have a chance to be around people of other cultures," she said. "I've been isolated and around one culture, and so I'm excited to go away."

It's also a way for her to give the real story about her life as a Native American.

"I think it's an opportunity for others to (hear) about what it's really like on a reservation from a first perspective," she said. "I can tell them how it really is, as opposed to hearing about it or reading the books."

Another decision she has to make is how to pay for college.

"I think I'm going to have to take out a lot of loans because I haven't really gotten scholarships," she said, laughing.

Watters said she didn't apply for any scholarships but was offered financial aid from Dartmouth. Even with that offer, she is leaning toward Yale or Princeton.

"I like the competitiveness on how well you have to do academically to survive at those schools," she said.

Her family will be sad to see her go but are supportive.

"They're happy for me, and they all have places they'd like me to go, but they're not swaying me; they want me to make the decision on my own," she said. "My dad would prefer closer to home, but what parent wouldn't?"

She has advice for the incoming freshmen.

"Every little award you get counts. Put it on your application," she said. "Everyone thinks it's just writing and grades, but they look at little things that make a person well-rounded and someone who can help the world."

Contact Kayla Gahagan at 394-8410 or kayla.gahagan@rapidcityjournal.com