Community Chat

[stevieb]

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@Love to Run wrote:

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@stevieb wrote:

Sounds as though one of the college level courses he's taken was Marketing 101. Now, everyone wants to interview him, write about him and tell his story. Seems like maybe that was the bottom line.

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@stevieb As any parent who has ever had a child with multiple full-ride scholarships can tell you, the school and school district do all the marketing including sending press releases.

Why you would assume a student that has maintained such a high level of achievement for his entire academic career would have such a shallow motivation is cynical beyond belief.

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Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps I'm being cynical and perhaps you're being naive... Only time will tell... Either way, the word certainly got out to the media...

[jlkz]

While he is tying up a lot of scholarship money that others could be receiving, he is also putting off a decision that may cost others their desired college.

There is only so much money available to be given out and a limited number of seats available at a given college.

I think his actions are quite selfish... Very childish behavior for a 16 year old.  Evidently his parents or guardians think this is wonderful....

[MorningLover]

A comment I read online that got a 100 thumbs up.

Congratulations. Great job in high school kid. Now grow up.

This whole apply to every college and set a record for acceptance and scholarship money stunt is immature and unethical. Even worse, it is affecting other peoples lives at a critical time in a negative way.

He has no intention of attending over 90% of these colleges. All he is doing is taking up an acceptance spot and available scholarship funds that could go to someone who actually wants to attend one of these schools.

He has probably ruined a first choice school for at least a few people. The funds and class spot will eventually be reallocated to other applicants, but right now his actions are having a temporary and perhaps permanent ripple effect on other peoples futures.

Again great job kid, but you are smart enough think and understand 2 steps ahead about the outcome of your actions and now is a good time to start.

[PickyPicky3]

I wonder if some of those offers might be withdrawn as a result of learning Dennis applied to 200 schools.

[Zernia Rose]

@shoesnbags  Thank you for your wonderful comments and the facts about his achievements.  Some comments seemed to question the veracity of his achievements and want to downplay his excellence. His achevements resulted from his God-given talents, nurturing home committed to knowledge, and supportive teachers that kindled and nurtured his desires to learn.  No evidene has emerged that he was chosen for a quota, affirmative action, or that he has taken the place of some other student that is more "qualified." There are others that are similar and they are recruited by all types of colleges from private elite, to elite public, HBCUs, HLCus, public, and so on.  Let's celebrate those that value knowledge, academic achievement, volunteerism, striving for the greater good.  The current landscape is retrogressive for knowledge.

I am glad that he will be interviewed.  He is one example of a counter-narrative about young Black males that permeates media nightly.

[Zernia Rose]

He is brilliant and presented an application that was exceptional.

[Zernia Rose]

@jlkz Colleges handle admissions in a number of ways: early admissions, traditional admissions, and late admissions. There are appproximately 4,000 higher learning institutions in the USA. He will be given deadlines to accept or decline and other requirements to maintain his scholarship.  He is not selfish and other deserving students will benefit when he declines admission and scholarships.

I wonder if his achievements would be challenged and denigrated if he were of another race?  I'll answer: no they wouldn't.  

[Zernia Rose]

@stevieb As it often is the case, general media ignored Dennis and his achevements until they treneded on Black media such as thegrio.com and theroot.com and others. There are others that highlight the achievements of Ghanain and Nigerian students also as their achievements are ignored. Had he engaged in criminal behavior, he would lead the headlines in print and electronic media. 

There are many students profiled in this manner in local and national media.  Who knows how their achievements are shared in media? 

[Iwantcoffee]

I am impressed and happy for his success in school.

[DottieBlue]

Some of these posts sound like "unconscience bias" to me.