Most high school seniors hope to be accepted by their top two or three choices for college.

Craig McFarland, 18, of Jacksonville, Fla., aimed particularly high and wide, and was accepted by all eight Ivy League schools.

First came his acceptance to Yale University in December.

“I was just yelling in shock when I heard the Yale acceptance video,” Mr. McFarland said, recalling that, earlier that day, he’d had a disappointing track practice, gotten into an argument with a friend and had car trouble.

After that, the other acceptances trickled in: Princeton University, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Dartmouth College, Cornell University and Harvard University. He opened them all in a single sitting.

“I was alone with my sister in my room and opened all the Ivy League schools one by one,” he said, adding that he yelled a little louder with each acceptance. “When I opened Harvard as the last one, my sister and I ran to my dog and danced around.”