New Orleans Teen Receives $9M In College Scholarships, Over 125 Acceptance Letters
Dennis Barnes, a New Orleans high school senior, is breaking records as he’s pulled in a whopping $9,000,000 in college scholarships and at least 125 acceptance letters. The African-American teenager has made U.S. history as he’s now garnered more scholarships than any other student ever recorded.
WWLTV reports that the 16-year-old student applied to 200 colleges across the nation and the scholarships offered at the respective institutions. By the spring, the NOLA International High School student received an overwhelming amount of offers and funding.
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“I submitted college applications in August with an eye on raising the bar high for college admissions. Decision letters were an overflow in my mailbox and hundreds of scholarships,” Barnes told the news outlet.
His school reportedly expects his offerings to reach $10,000,000 by the end of this month. Even then, Barnes would have still collected more money in scholarships than he predecessor: a Lafayette high school senior who was offered $8.7 million in scholarships in 2019.
Barnes’ love for learning makes him an attractive recipient, as he currently holds a cumulative grade point average of 4.98, WWTV reports. He’s also proven himself a stellar student; he holds the position of executive president in his school’s National Honor Society. The exceptional scholar also skipped 10th grade and went straight to 11th where he excelled, according to his principal Dr. Adierah Berger.
Aside from his core studies, Barnes also excelled in foreign language courses as he learned to speak Spanish fluently.
As result of his bilingual skills, he’s received an offer letter from the Institute Cervantes on behalf of Spain’s Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports and was awarded the Jose Luis Baños Award for Excellence in Spanish Language by Maria Page, honorary consul of Spain in New Orleans.
On May 2, Barnes is expected to announce his decision before graduating on May 24. Either way, he plans to study computer science and criminal justice wherever he goes.
When asked what advice he has for rising high school seniors, Barnes told the news outlet, “The road to a successful future is to plan ahead, network with the collegiate partners, and know that If you can see your vision, you can achieve your goal.”
