Photo courtesy of AfroTech
Applying for college can be a nerve-wracking experience for many high school students while waiting for acceptance letters to arrive in the mail. However, one Birmingham high school student was accepted into multiple colleges and received thousands of dollars in scholarships.
Kylan Benson, a senior at Ramsay High School, was accepted into 18 out of 19 colleges he applied to, including eight Ivy League schools with $3 million in scholarships. While the prestigious institutions weren’t at the top of his list, the high school senior is looking forward to narrowing down his choices, WVTM 13 reported
.The Birmingham resident told the outlet that he used a local nonprofit organization to apply for college and relieve the financial burden of students in need.
“It was a long process,” Benson said as he explained how he earned so much money in scholarships. “I’m a part of the College Choice Foundation, a local nonprofit that helps youth find colleges that meet full financial need. That’s been a big help for me, and they’ve helped me navigate throughout the whole entire college process.”
He added, “Initially, I didn’t plan on applying to any Ivy League schools. I just thought that it wasn’t my type of school, but after being able to visit schools like Columbia and visit Harvard, I saw that I could definitely see myself at those schools, and I would be a great fit.”
Benson, the co-valedictorian of his class, said he has started thinking about career options as graduation nears. And since he loves helping people, the teen has developed an interest in government while assisting others.
During his time at Ramsay High School, the teen has maintained his leadership skills in several organizations, including the youth and government club president.
“I follow local politics very closely. I feel like I can take the lessons that I’ve learned in their careers and apply that to the state level, the national level, the global level,” Benson said.