Record breaker: Teen accepted at 125 colleges, earns $9 million in scholarships

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana high school senior has a big decision to make — which of the 125 colleges and universities that he’s been accepted to will he attend?

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Dennis Barnes, a senior at International High School of New Orleans, applied to more than 200 schools nationwide last August and has been accepted to a majority of them, WWL reported.

In addition to the schools that have accepted him, he broke a record for receiving the most scholarship offers, which currently total more than $9 million.

But Barnes isn’t finished. While $9 million in free money for education may be unfathomable for most, he wants to shatter the current record and cross the $10 million threshold, WGNO reported.

He has a few more weeks to get to that benchmark. Barnes plans on announcing his college decision on May 2 and has given himself the same deadline for accruing scholarships.

Barnes has a cumulative GPA of 4.98 and is also earning college credit through Southern University of New Orleans while still enrolled in high school.

He hopes to get two degrees in Computer Science and Criminal Justice, WGNO reported.

Barnes said he has had straight A’s since he was in elementary school. He’s also fluent in Spanish and has earned “Diplomas en Español” from the Instituto Cervantes and Spain’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports. He also earned the Jose Luis Baños Award for Excellence in Spanish Language.

Barnes’ success isn’t just limited to the classroom. He’s held leadership positions in the National Honor Society.

So where did he get the idea to set the application and scholarship bar so high? WWL reported it was college admission counselor Denise James who gave Barnes the idea.

Barnes is scheduled to graduate on May 24.