High schooler breaks scholarship record with more than $9M in offers

A 16-year-old high school senior now has plenty of college options to choose from and lots of money to pay for them.

Dennis Maliq Barnes, who graduated from the International High School of New Orleans, has been accepted into 175 colleges and universities. He was offered scholarships from 130 of them, totaling more than $9 million.

The teen is an early graduate, with a 4.98 GPA and 27 college credits already under his belt.

Barnes credits all of his academic success to his strong Christian faith and his support system, including his college admissions counselor.

“I definitely have a very supportive group of people behind me. I have my parents, my counselor — Ms. Denise James. They were all instrumental, especially Ms. James, in getting me through this journey. I’m very excited. This is something that I’m very happy that I was able to accomplish. It feels really good,” said Barnes.

According to The Associated Press, James and Head of School Adierah Berger both describe Barnes as a leader and an example to other students.

Barnes’ accomplishments also broke the world record for securing more scholarships than any other student out there.

He told the AP he wants to major in computer science, but he is also considering law school.

By Johannah Grenaway and Scripps News.