Illinois High School Seniors Secure Admission to Top Universities , Achieves $50 Million Scholarship
The graduating seniors have been admitted to some of the country’s most prestigious liberal arts colleges and universities, including Barnard College, Wellesley College, Columbia University, Vanderbilt, Howard University, the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, Northwestern, the University of California-Berkeley, and Stanford.
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For the eleventh year in a row, Southland College Prep Charter High School in Richton Park, Illinois is rejoicing as every senior has been accepted into college.
During their annual “All In” event in April, the school, located in South Suburban Chicago and primarily serving an African American student body, announced that the class of 2024 has garnered over $50 million in scholarships based on merit and need.
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The graduating seniors have been admitted to some of the country’s most prestigious liberal arts colleges and universities, including Barnard College, Wellesley College, Columbia University, Vanderbilt, Howard University, the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, Northwestern, the University of California-Berkeley, and Stanford.
The school administration also shared that Knyiema Martin, 18, of Matteson, the class valedictorian, has been accepted into 28 schools and has received more than $5 million in scholarships based on merit and need. Martin, who achieved a 4.89 GPA on a 4.0 scale, was recognized as a Gates Millennium Scholar, the third in the school’s history to receive this esteemed scholarship. Martin intends to pursue a psychology major at the University of California-Berkeley.
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Dr. Blondean Y. Davis, Southland’s CEO, stated, “Our students faced unprecedented challenges and they addressed every one of them and more than met them.”
Despite the obstacles posed by FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) delays and the difficulties of navigating high school during a pandemic, the school acknowledged the exceptional accomplishments of the class of 2024, which is the school’s eleventh graduating class since its establishment in 2010.
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Furthermore, Southland, which determines its enrollment through an annual lottery and does not select students based on academic performance, has maintained a 100% college acceptance rate since its first graduating class in 2014.
