Smarty Pants of the Day: "Unschooled" Mumbai Teen Gets MIT Scholarship, Wins Bigger Battle Over Local Stereotypes

The notable accomplishments of seventeen-year-old Malvika Raj Joshi didn't end when she got a scholarship to MIT after having left school to be homeschooled, or "unschooled" as it's referred to in India. After years of hard work while homeschooling, she was noticed by MIT for having won three different metals (two silver and a bronze) in a Programming Oympiad contest against traditionally-schooled competitors.

However, if you read the coverage of her scholarship win as written by Indian newspaper "The Indian Express," her greater accomplishment is over the sexism and traditional social mores that plague that area.



So we wish Ms. Joshi good luck on her computer science studies at MIT, and GREATER luck fighting that uphill battle against the establishment.



Get yours, girl.