Nationwide — Dennis Barnes, an African American high school student from New Orleans, Louisiana, has been awarded a whopping $9 million in scholarship offers from 125 colleges and universities, reportedly setting a new world record for the highest amount of scholarship money offered.
Barnes, who is a senior at the International High School of New Orleans, is said to have applied to more than 200 schools across the country. Barnes has so far received acceptance letters from 125 schools and more responses are still coming in from other schools. He expects to reach $10 million in scholarship offers before the month ends.
Currently, the number of offers Barnes received beat the previous record documented in the Guinness Book of World Records held by Lafayette high school senior Normadie Cormier who received $8.7 million in scholarships from more than 130 colleges in 2019.
Barnes, who has a 4.98 GPA, holds a leadership position in the National Honor Society. He is also fluent in Spanish and received the Jose Luis Baños Award for Excellence in Spanish Language by the Honorary Consul of Spain in New Orleans.
Moreover, Barnes plans on pursuing a dual undergraduate degree in computer science and criminal justice. He has earned college credits in the last 2 years while in high school because of his dual enrollment at the Southern University of New Orleans. He has yet to decide which college or university he will attend.
“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.