Community Chat

[DottieBlue]

---

@MorningLover wrote:

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.

---

What website was this on?

[PickyPicky3]

@Zernia Rose    From what I've read, it looks like a TV station in Nashville was the first to report on Dennis Barnes. Then a bunch of media outlets, including The Grio, reported on the next day, and so the story spread.

I have no idea who sent out the original press release. Maybe the New Orleans Board of Education. Maybe the city. Or maybe Dennis' school.

It caught my eye yesterday when I was reading about radiation treatments being used to correct irregular heartbeats in the AP website. 

I haven't seen one report where Dennis' achievements were disparaged. But I view applying to 200 colleges as something a 16-year-old would do. Even a really smart one. Read Dennis' interviews. He was not recruited -- he had so much success from his initial applications it turned into a game. And he wanted to keep winning.

There has been no mention of his family. Dennis credits his faith and his guidance counselor for his success

In any case, I can't wait to learn his choice.

[DottieBlue]

---

@Foxxee wrote:

I'm sure there are members here and others in this country who received 4.98 averages.  Did you and they get $9 million, 200 college offers, and a lot of press?

Why him?

---

Why him?  Because he set a record FOR APPLYING, at 16 years of age.  That's why.

[Zernia Rose]

@PickyPicky3  I apologize if I misinterpreted your comments. There were a couple of undercurrents in some of the comments and I likely lumped them together.  Thank you for the correction in my content, e.g. what media outlet posted the info first. I look forward to knowing his choice.  Dennis takes courses at Southern University so he has some sense of what college would entail. A few others mentioned his age as a possible deterrent.  At eighteen, I was the oldest in my quad suite during freshman year. My other roommates were 17, 17, and 16.  We did not have any problems associated with maturity issues.

Education has become even more volatile as people try every advantage possible to ensure that children attend the best pre-schools, elementary, middle and high school to ensure that their child has every advantage to gain admission to one of the Ivy League schools or elite private school.  Lawsuits galore are being filed all to ensure that certain do not gain admissions.  If they do, then they didn't earn their admission or deserve it.

American K-12 education has been unequal forever and becoming even more stratified.  General Mark A. Milley, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has warned the US that are educational systems leave the US vulnerable and weakened in economics, technology, and militarily.  US students' performances on international tests are well below expectations.  We rank below many countries especially in science, math, and literacy.  Rather than question how and why Dennis received so many offers, let's discern what factors made him successful and which transfer to other contexts and groups.

[Zernia Rose]

@PickyPicky3 Any college or university that withraws an offer has to have a legally valid reason for doing so such emergent economic issues, unreported criminal convictions (depending on what crimes), the dissolution of a departmeent or school in which the student sought enrollment, and so on.  The number of schools Dennis applied to should not be a factor.  I applied for early admission to my private school and had to agree to NOT apply to any other colleges or universities until a decision had been rendered.  I had an in-person interview with an alumna who taught in one of the areas colleges the day after Thanksgiving and received my decision the day after Christmas; that was in 1973.  Admissions have changed since then and some consortia of schools use a common application which makes it easier to apply to more schools.

[haddon9]

---

@jlkz wrote:

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....

---

@jlkz Agreed!  Not only do his parents and those in charge think it's wonderful, it appears many posters do as well.  I think it's great that he's worked hard and now he has a great future ahead of him.

However all of that scholarship money is being tied up and taken away from other students.  He has to turn down offers before it can be released.  The same is true with openings available at each school.

[haddon9]

---

@Zernia Rose wrote:

@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 I thought all of those applications were ridiculous when I first read about him.  I had no idea who he was or what his race was.  I'm sure most here didn't know what his race was until someone posted a photo on post #26. 

Why even bring this up?

[jlkz]

@haddon9 @Zernia Rose 

No where did I see any mention of race or ethnic background.  That would not change my post: the basic points made remain the same.

A lot of time, energy and money was spent when you consider 200 college staffs that figured in the decision to offer him a scholarship and seat in the entrance class.  Then when 199 get his decline of their offer, they get to do it again for the prospective students who are waiting to hear from the college they really want to attend.

The behavior of this one student: selfish, attention-seeking, inconsiderate, etc.

[ceejay]

Wow, a young African American male can't catch a break here. He is not shooting up a school with an automatic weapon, confronting or running from the police, carjacking an innocent victim or engaging in any other conduct that society justifiably condemns. All he did was excel at the highest levels in school and was rewarded with multiple scholarship offers. Yet, he is being called selfish and inconsiderate. He is 16 for heavens sake! Why can't we just acknowledge and appreciate his accomplishments?  As for him taking away any opportunities from others, I have no doubt that all of the slots and scholarships that he (and many others) turned down will be reallocated and will not go to waste.

[haddon9]

@ceejay No one mentioned his race.  If he were white I would feel the same way about taking the opportunities from others.   

I have a friend right now whose daughter was wait listed at her first choice of college and won't know until the beginning of May.  She was accepted at her second choice...but for the fall of 2024.  However at her third choice she has to let them know by May 1.  Things can get complicated trying to get in and get scholarship money.