Dennis “Maliq” Barnes, a 16-year-old senior in New Orleans, has broken a US record by receiving $10.1 million in scholarship offers. Barnes applied to 200 colleges and has been accepted to over 180 of them. With a 4.98 GPA, Barnes is graduating two years early from the International High School of New Orleans.

In the beginning of May, Barnes announced he has made a decision and will attend Cornell University in the Fall of 2023. He will be majoring in computer science, and Barnes hopes to explore working in software development. Already on his way to gaining a college degree, Barnes has 27 college credits from Southern University in New Orleans earned through dual enrollment. “I’ve always known that I wanted to go to Cornell, so it was never really optioned, to be honest. Once I saw the admission, I knew where I was going. I wasn’t going anywhere else,” admits Barnes. 

Dennis Barnes holds a leadership position in the National Honor Society and is fluent in Spanish. Recently, he has received the Jose Luis Baños for Excellence in Spanish Language. Due to all his accomplishments, Barnes has already received multiple internship offers and awards. When asked, Barnes expressed his desire to venture out as he stated, “I would like to get away from New Orleans. I love my city, but I do want to venture out and experience new things and see the things that I haven’t seen before.” 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/05/us/dennis-barnes-college-decision-cornell-university/index.html

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/orleans/record-breaking-new-orleans-senior-10-million-scholarships/289-9ee4fc1b-bebc-443f-823d-4bbfc3b2233e

https://www.nola.com/news/education/new-orleans-senior-with-185-college-offers-chooses-cornell/article_cdde034c-eb56-11ed-9f33-2f84c4544752.html

https://www.wdsu.com/article/louisiana-student-record-college-offers-school-decision/43803610