Student Who Received $4.5 Million in Scholarships from 113 Colleges Announces Her Choice
A 17-year-old high school senior from North Carolina is firmly poised for a successful adulthood after the hard work of applying to 113 colleges around the nation paid off. Jasmine Harrison was offered a collective $4.5 million dollars in scholarships, and with a beaming smile, has announced her school of choice.
Harrison, who attends The Academy at Smith in Greensboro, started filling out college applications in September. She boasts a perfect 4.0-grade-point average, yet admits she was stunned as the acceptance letters started rolling in.
“When I got the first couple in the mail, I was like, ‘Okay, this is really happening,'” Harrison told WFMY-TV. “I didn’t really think I’d be able to do that.”
Bravena Armstrong, Harrison’s mother, was firmly by her daughter’s side during the daunting application process. Armstrong kept her daughter’s offers organized on an excel spreadsheet, which soon grew into a long list of schools near and far.
While applying to over 100 colleges sounds incredibly expensive, Harrison spent only $135 dollars. She took advantage of her home state’s free college application week and online applications that allowed Harrison to apply to multiple schools at once.
Harrison also capitalized on the Common Black College Application, which submitted her scholastic information to 53 of America’s historically black colleges and universities. In the end, Harrison was accepted into 113 of the 115 schools she applied to, with full-ride scholarships from three schools.
“At first I could not believe it, but then I was like, ‘Wow,'” Harrison recalled. “I felt honored.”
While two out-of-state schools offered Harrison a full-ride scholarship — Ed Waters College in Jacksonville, FL, and Mississippi Valley State University — Harrison chose a school right in her own backyard. Harrison accepted a full scholarship to attend Bennett College in Greensboro.
“At the end, she wanted to stay nearby,” Armstrong said of her daughter. Harrison’s scholarship covers the $28,000 annual cost to attend, according to Bennett College’s school president, Phyllis Worthy Dawkins.
Harrison admitted narrowing down her plethora of options was overwhelming. “I could go anywhere, and discover who I am,” the teen smiled.
Inspired as a child by a nurse who provided care to her newborn brother in the neonatal intensive care unit, Harrison plans to become a NICU nurse. She will major in biology at Bennett College.
Submit your story here, and subscribe to our best uplifting stories here.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
