Chapter 412 - 408: Special Recruitment

It had been over two weeks since the college entrance exams ended, and while the results weren’t out yet, admissions officers from various universities had practically beaten a path to their door over the past couple of days.

This morning alone, the family had hosted admissions officers from three different universities. Two were local schools in Lorcain, while the third was a prestigious university from Kylos, whose representative had taken a three-and-a-half-hour high-speed train ride just to visit them that morning.

Regardless of Ethan Sterling’s preference, anyone who came to their door had to be treated with hospitality. After seeing off the out-of-town professor at eleven-thirty, Jasmine Sterling rushed to change. "I really have to go. Manager Tate is waiting for me."

Watching her mother rush about, Cecilia Sterling chuckled. "I told you to go ahead and get to your meeting. We could have handled it here, but you insisted on staying."

"I had no idea it would be a revolving door all morning," Jasmine Sterling said with a sigh. "As soon as we saw one group out, another arrived."

Just yesterday, only two groups had come.

But just as she finished putting on her shoes, the video intercom buzzed. The young security guard at the gate, who was well aware that one of the Sterlings had aced the college entrance exam, was almost as excited as they were. After days of admissions officers arriving, he announced cheerfully, "Ms. Sterling, there’s another admissions team here to see you. This time, it’s Lorcain University."

The moment he heard "Lorcain University," Ethan Sterling shot up from the couch. "Lorcain U is finally here!"

Having other schools come to recruit him these past few days had certainly been an ego boost, but his heart was already set on one place.

Lorcain University!

Jasmine Sterling’s face lit up as well. "Lorcain University? Let them in, of course."

With that, she slipped off the shoes she had just put on.

Seeing this, Cecilia Sterling put a hand to her forehead in exasperation. "Mom, are you not going now? I thought you said Manager Tate was waiting for you."

"Lorcain U is here, so I have to be here! Ethan wants to go to Lorcain U!" Jasmine Sterling said, already opening the door to welcome their guests.

Cecilia and Ethan Sterling exchanged a look, both shaking their heads with a helpless smile.

To their surprise, Lorcain U didn’t come in small force. Three admissions officers arrived at once, and Jasmine Sterling enthusiastically ushered them inside.

Hearthstone Villas was one of Lorcain’s most famous affluent neighborhoods. The professors had all heard of it, but stepping into the Sterling family’s home, they were still taken aback by its opulence.

"Ms. Sterling, hello. We’re from the admissions office at Lorcain University," one of them said. "We’ve come today specifically to invite Ethan Sterling to join us at Lorcain U for his undergraduate studies."

"Hello, hello." Jasmine Sterling had been forcing a smile all morning, and her cheeks were starting to ache. But now, facing the professors from Lorcain U, her smile was far more genuine.

One of the women, a professor, smiled and said, "We heard from the guard on our way in. It sounds like you’ve had quite a few teams from other universities visiting these past few days?"

"Oh, yes," Jasmine Sterling replied, glancing at her son with unconcealed pride. "The funny thing is, the results aren’t even officially out, but the universities seem to find out before we do."

"Even when the results are released, you won’t see a specific score for Ethan," a professor explained. "His results will simply read: ’Top 50 in the City of Lorcain.’"

"Oh?" Jasmine Sterling paused, then turned to Cecilia. "Cecilia, isn’t that just like what happened with your exam results back in Toryn?"

When Cecilia had checked her own scores years ago, they hadn’t displayed a number either, just the words "Top 100 in Toryn Province."

"That’s right. For the top-ranking students, they usually hide the score and just display the rank," Cecilia confirmed with a nod.

The professors glanced instinctively at Cecilia. ’A young woman this beautiful is also such a high achiever?’

The lead professor, a man with glasses, looked at her with curiosity. "Young lady, Toryn Province is known for being incredibly competitive when it comes to the entrance exams. A top-100 rank is impressive. Which university did you end up choosing?"

Cecilia’s choice of university had long been a sore subject in the family, a point of contention that had once strained the relationship between her and her mother.

But she was long past caring about it now. Besides, the professor couldn’t have known; it was just a curious question.

Still, Jasmine felt a pang of guilt and lowered her gaze, hiding the emotion in her eyes. Cecilia, however, answered forthrightly, "Lorcain University of Science and Technology."

The professors nodded knowingly. After all, Lorcain Tech was a fine national university, with some departments that were among the best in the country.

After a bit more small talk, the conversation naturally shifted back to Ethan Sterling.

Taking turns, the professors began by outlining the strengths and prestige of Lorcain U, though Ethan was already familiar with most of it.

Then, the lead professor spoke up again. "Our purpose here is quite clear, so I’ll get straight to the point."

Ethan sat up straighter, nodding eagerly.

"First and foremost, we are extremely sincere in our invitation for Ethan to join our university. If you accept, our first promise is guaranteed admission into the major of your choice. Our computer science and finance departments, for example, are among the best in the nation. Of course, given Ethan’s exam results, it’s highly unlikely he wouldn’t meet the cutoff for any program he desires, but we want to make our offer clear."

Ethan was grinning like an idiot, absolutely thrilled by what he was hearing.

"Now for the main offer," the professor continued. "We are prepared to offer Ethan a one-time enrollment scholarship of 300,000 dollars, plus a full-ride scholarship for every semester thereafter. We will also grant him eligibility for our integrated Bachelor’s-Master’s-Doctorate track, which shortens the path to a terminal degree."

"Upon enrollment, Ethan will have the choice of a single or double dorm room. This is a special privilege, as most of Lorcain U’s dormitories are quads or six-person suites."

"Furthermore, if your major aligns, our university has several renowned top-tier experimental programs. If Ethan is interested, we can guarantee his placement. As an undergraduate, he’ll be assigned a mentor who is a national academician or a Changjiang Scholar, and he will be given priority access to their labs."

"We also promise you the flexibility to take courses outside your major and to begin graduate-level coursework early."

The professor laid out all these points in one go, then looked at Ethan with hopeful expectation. "Ethan, as Cathay’s highest internationally-ranked university, we at Lorcain U sincerely invite you to join our student body. All of these special admissions promises will be provided in a formal, stamped document from the university, guaranteeing their validity."

Truthfully, the special admissions packages from every university had been incredibly tempting. Lorcain U’s offer wasn’t unique in its generosity.

But since Lorcain U had always been Ethan’s first choice, hearing them lay out such an incredible offer just for him was exhilarating.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he nodded eagerly. "Professor, I accept! I’ll go to Lorcain U. I can give you my answer right now!"

The admissions officers remained perfectly composed, simply exchanging knowing smiles.

Jasmine’s eyes welled up slightly as she nodded. "Professors, to be honest, Ethan had his heart set on Lorcain U even before the exams. Thank you so much for coming all this way to extend this offer in person. We truly appreciate it."

"That’s wonderful. It’s a mutual match," the lead professor said, rising to his feet and extending a hand to Ethan. "Ethan Sterling, welcome to Lorcain U!"