Dennis Barnes Receives Record Breaking $9 Million In Scholarship Offers From 125 Colleges

According to local New Orleans news station WWL-TV, Dennis Barnes, a high school student from New Orleans, is currently the holder of the largest amount of scholarship money awarded. In order to officially recognize Barnes’ new record, the school contacted Guinness.

More than $9 million in scholarships have been awarded to Barnes, who has been accepted into 125 colleges and universities.

In an effort to set a high standard for college admissions, Barnes stated that he submitted his college applications in August. Barnes told WWL-TV that he received a ton of scholarship offers in addition to decision letters, which were overflowing in his mailbox.

He beat the prior record holder, who was also from Louisiana. A senior from Lafayette got $8.7 million in scholarships from universities all over the country in 2019.

Barnes, a dual student at Southern University of New Orleans with a cumulative GPA of 4.98, is gaining college credit while remaining a high school student. His ultimate goal with his education is to receive a dual degree in Criminal Justice and Computer Science.

He has held the position of Executive President of the National Honor Society outside of the classroom and has earned straight A’s since the first grade.

The New Orleans native has received the “Diplomas en Espaol” award from the Institute Cervantes on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports for his proficiency in Spanish. Maria Page, the Honorary Consul of Spain in New Orleans, presented him with the Jose Luis Baos Award for Excellence in the Spanish Language, which he also recently accepted.

On May 2, Dennis Barnes is expected to reveal his next college destination. He claims that his short-term objective is to reach $10 million in scholarship funding. The Frederick J. Sigur Civic Center will host Barnes’ graduation on May 24th.