New Orleans student with $10M scholarship offers chooses Cornell

NEW ORLEANS, La. (TND) — A senior at a school in New Orleans who received scholarship offers from 170 colleges totaling $10 million announced he will attend Cornell University.

Dennis "Maliq" Barnes will graduate from the International High School of New Orleans with a 4.98 GPA.For the past two years, Barnes has been dual enrolled at the Southern University of New Orleans to earn credits while getting a high school diploma.

He plans to pursue a dual undergraduate degree in computer science and criminal justice after graduating on May 24.

“Today is an exciting day for me and my family, and I look forward to working with Cornell’s College of Engineering over the course of my undergraduate education,” Barnes said during his announcement.

The record number of offers breaks the previous record in the Guinness Book of World Records, which was held by a Lafayette high school senior who received $8.7 million in scholarships in 2019.

Barnes will graduate with a “Summa Cum Laude Distinction,” which is the highest honor.