A high school graduate in Georgia has his choice of colleges to attend and, with $17 million in scholarships, will have a good nest egg to help pay for his education.
Patrick Pruitt applied to 270 colleges and universities and was accepted into all but six, WSB reported.
The Woodland High School Student said in a statement, “You want to open yourself up to as many opportunities as possible. I just used what strengths I had to offer.”
He graduated this year with a 3.8 unweighted GPA, which was weighted as 4.2 with advanced coursework, putting him in the top 10% of the class of 2026.
Pruitt also scored 1200 on his SAT. He wasn’t just getting good grades; however, he also ran varsity cross country and track.
Last summer, he completed an internship at the Henry County Water Authority, driven by his passion for clean water and the environment.
He planned on being accepted at 100 schools, but after hearing about the national record of 231 acceptances, he tried to break the record, and he did.
That meant he had to decide which of the 264 schools he would attend.
He chose Knox College in Illinois, with the school giving him a scholarship package of about $260,000. But he still has about $5,000 a term to pay.
He has a plan to help cover those costs, applying for even more scholarships.
“He’s very self-driven, self-motivated, resilient,” his mother, Alicia Brantley, said. “After all this is said and done, he can see the fruits of his labor, and that’s a beautiful experience to witness.”
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