17-year-old African-American Student Receives Full Ride in all 20 Colleges He Applied For!

Michael Brown, a 17-year-old African-American student, was shocked as he applied to 20 of the best colleges in the country, and was given a full ride with $260,000 in additional scholarship offers to every single one of them. He later said he was filled with joy and that it was something to be proud of as he saw his hard work, determination, and sacrifices, paid off.

Of those 20 colleges, he listed his top eight as Harvard, Princeton, Northwestern, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Georgetown, and Vanderbilt. Brown is currently a senior at Mirabeau B. Lamar High School, and he is an active member of the debate team, mock trial, and student government. He was also a volunteer in political campaigns, wherein he cited his interest the moment he saw Barack Obama get elected. He is set to major in Political Science but is also considering a second degree in economics.

The Moment He Received the First Letter

Brown received his first letter back in December, where he chose to open it at a friend’s house in order to relieve the pressure of being around his entire family. He was feeling uneasy because his family had such high expectations and perhaps did not realize how competitive the process was. Despite this though, his staunchest supporter, his mom, was still there to break the news with him.

His mom Berthinia Rutledge-Brown, was the one to film Michael as he stood in shock by the computer while his friends stood around him. The first letter came from Stanford and, of course, it said yes. His mother, bursting with pride, said that Michael was in total control of his education since the sixth grade. She said she acknowledged how focused his son was, and that he knew what he wanted.

Michael Brown is ecstatic as his mom records his acceptance letter from Stanford.

A Mother’s Dedication and Love

Berthinia had lost three infants before getting pregnant with Michael. Once she was able to have a son, she gave all that she had and more into giving him the very best so that he could be happy. In Michael’s entire academic career, he only received one B, and she said it was a very difficult experience for the boy who set such high standards.

Last March 28th, Michael was able to open the last four letters that contained his admissions which marked his 20-school streak. His mother, who works two jobs as a licensed chemical dependency counselor, took the afternoon off to be with her son in his moment of success. Until now, they have been in shock at the results, as well as the scholarship offers that Michael received.

An inspiration to all

Despite this once-in-a-lifetime achievement, Michael did not want to hog the spotlight. He also highlighted that he was not the only student of color who had achieved such success.

Michael wants to use his 15 minutes of fame not only to highlight the achievements of others like him but also to educate others on how they can shoot for their dreams as well

Michael will render 30 days touring additional schools before he makes his big decision on the first of May. Despite his grand achievement though, Michael does not have any intention of taking it easy. After the tour, during summertime, he plans to spend two weeks touring around cities that have a history in fighting bigotry and racism as part of the Rustic Pathways “Race in America” program. Only time will tell what else this high-achiever has in store for the world.