Accepted to over 50 colleges, teen chooses Duke University
Imagine being accepted to 54 colleges and universities as a high school senior, then earning $1.3 million in scholarships.
With endless choices in front of her, Daya Brown of Atlanta chose Duke University.
The star student wants to pursue a career in film or media, and says she always thought she'd attend college in a big city like New York or L.A. That is, until she set foot on campus at Duke.
Brown started working on her college applications when she was only a sophomore. From all over the country, the acceptances kept rolling in.
"I received admissions to Spelman, Hampton, Maryland, University of Georgia, Clemson, LSU," she says.
But she says Duke was her clear number one.
"It felt like home," she says. "I was welcomed by amazing students who were minority students, who were repping the D9s, and were fully present in who they were," she says.
[The historically Black fraternities and sororities of the National Pan-Hellenic Council are popularly known as the Divine Nine or D9.]
Brown's resume is long.
- She's class president at Westlake High in Atlanta
- She's a student journalist
- She's won awards in debate
- She even started her own production company
She credits her success, though, to planning ahead – and being authentic and vulnerable.
Her student essay focused on the high expectations placed on her as a pastor's daughter.
"I think as a pastor's kid, people think you are this pristine individual. You have to be perfect," she says. "That quickly changed when my parents got divorced during 7th grade."
She looks forward to carving her path in the Bull City.
Brown says she got a one-year full ride to Duke. She'll have to re-apply for that every year.
She's also a finalist for a four-year full ride through the Gates Millennium scholarship, a prestigious award reserved for outstanding minority students from low-income households. She'll find out about that in three weeks.
Brown's story has gotten national attention from CNN to the Washington Post.
