A New Orleans high school senior broke the national record after achieving 125 offers from colleges and universities and over $9 million in scholarships.
International High School of New Orleans senior Dennis Barnes is gearing up to graduate high school and head to college with tuition as the last of his worries.
According to 4WWL, the New Orleans native applied to 200 institutions nationwide and was bombarded with acceptance letters and scholarships.
“I submitted college applications in August, with an eye on raising the bar high for college admissions,” Barnes told the outlet. “Decision letters were an overflow in my mailbox and hundreds of scholarship offers.”
The previous record-holder was a Lafayette high school senior with $8.7 million in scholarships in 2019. The school plans on contacting the Guinness Book of World Records to replace the previous titleholder’s name with Barnes.
He worked hard in school to maintain his cumulative GPA of 4.98. He also got involved in school activities like becoming an officer in IHSNO’s National Honor Society. On Spain’s Ministry of Education’s behalf, The Institute Cervantes gave Barnes, a fluent Spanish speaker, an official qualification. Barnes was also granted the Jose Luis Baños Award for Excellence in Spanish Language.
While striving for his high school diploma, Barnes was dual enrolled at the Southern University of New Orleans for two years, earning college credits.
Barnes’ plans for college are to obtain two bachelor’s degrees in computer science and criminal justice.
The soon-to-be college student has made his school proud to where they posted his accomplishments on their Facebook page.
“Congrats to our superstar senior Dennis Barnes on his monumental achievement of receiving more than $9 million in scholarship offers!” The post read.
Barnes has yet to decide where he will attend but plans to announce it on May 2. He’s hopeful that more acceptance letters and scholarships will arrive. He wants to reach a $10 million goal by the end of April.
He offered advice for seniors out there applying for colleges and scholarships.
“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,” Barnes said.
