17-year-old, Michael Brown from Houston applied to 20 of the best universities in the US.
He was admitted to every single one with a full ride and $260,000 in additional scholarship offers! He was in complete amazement looking at the letters in front of him.
“It’s something I’m proud of because I see my hard work paying off, determination paying off, sacrifices paying off,” the student told CNN news.
Of those 20, he listed his top 8 choices as: Harvard, Princeton, Northwestern, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Georgetown and Vanderbilt.
A senior at Mirabeau B. Lamar High School, Micheal has been heavily involved in his school’s debate team, mock trial and student government for years.
Brown has also volunteered for political campaigns, citing his interest to “the moment I saw Barack Obama get elected.”
He is set on majoring in political science, but is also considering a second degree in economics.
When Brown received his first acceptance in December, he chose to do it at a friend’s house to relieve the pressure of being around his whole family.
“My family had high expectations and maybe didn’t realize how competitive the process is,” he said.
But he still invited his biggest supporter to come along — his Mother.
Berthinia Rutledge-Brown filmed as Micheal stood in shock by the computer while his friends excitedly rallied around him.
Stanford, of course, said yes.
“After sixth grade, Mike was in control of his education,” recalled the proud mom. “He was focused, he knew what he wanted and he made his own decisions.”
Rutledge-Brown lost 3 babies before she became pregnant with Micheal. Once she finally had a son, she poured all of her energy into giving him the very best that she possibly could.
He only received one B during his entire academic career, which she said was very difficult for him.
On March 28, Micheal opened the last 4 admissions decisions that would mark his 20-school streak.
His mother, who works two jobs as a licensed chemical dependency counselor, took the afternoon off to be with him.
They are both still in shock about the college and scholarship offers.
But Brown didn’t want to talk about his own accomplishments alone.
“For me, it’s important to highlight that I’m not the only student of color who is achieving,” the teenager noted.
He has met so many friends through organizations like QuestBridge, Emerge Fellowship and Breakthrough Collaborative, which match students from low-income communities with higher education opportunities.
In fact, Micheal has at least 1 friend at every single Ivy League school thanks to these initiatives. He stressed the importance of using his platform to show other kids that they can dream big, too.
“I want people to be informed and get access to these same programs,” he said.
He will spend the next 30 days touring additional schools before he makes his final choice on May 1.
And he’s not taking a break until the fall.
This summer, he’ll be spending two weeks traveling around cities that have historically fought for racial justice as part of Rustic Pathways’ “Race in America” program.