Louisiana high school senior who received 125 college offers, $9M in scholarships, thanks God for his success

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Sixteen-year-old scholar Dennis Maliq Barnes has been offered a record-breaking 125 college acceptances and more than $9 million in scholarships – which may be more than any other college-bound senior in U.S. history.

"This whole experience that I'm having right now has given me a sense of gratitude for everything that I do," Barnes, a senior at the International High School of New Orleans (IHSNO), told Fox News Digital. 

"I give all the glory to God because he played a huge role in everything that I'm doing today and all of my success. I thank him for allowing me to get through, even when I didn't want to. Days may be hard. I may be tired. I may be having a bad week, but he always lifted me up to be able to move forward."

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Barnes, who plans to announce his college decision by Wednesday, May 3, has acceptances and scholarships from all over the country – from Louisiana Tech and Kansas State to the University of Arkansas and the University of Iowa, just to name a few.

Barnes (pictured here) served as master of ceremonies in his role as executive president of the National Honor Society at the March 2023 induction ceremony. (IHSNO)

He started the college application process last August and everything just started to add up, Barnes said.

"Breaking a record wasn't necessarily a goal or something I set out to do," Barnes said.

"I am just a college-bound student seeking somewhere where I'm comfortable that has a great program in my major and that's going to compensate me financially," he added.

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Barnes said he plans to pursue a degree in computer science.

After applying to 200 schools, Barnes has been accepted into 125 different universities. (IHSNO)

"I’m interested in software development, which is a growing industry right now," Barnes said.

"And then there’s intellectual property, NFTs, AI and cybersecurity. I’m interested in all those things. And I also want to pursue a law degree," he said.

Barnes has been dually enrolled in Southern University of New Orleans for the past two years, earning college credits while completing his high school diploma at IHSNO.

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When he graduates from high school on May 24, he will almost have earned enough credits to enroll in college as a sophomore.

Barnes maintained his 4.0 GPA and was able to skip two grades, promoting him to the senior class at the age of 16. Here Barnes is presented with his personalized basketball banner by his coaches Kyle Hebert (left) and David Lewis (right) after the 2022-2023 basketball season. (IHSNO)

"Dennis is a goal setter," Denise James, Barnes' college counselor, told Fox News Digital. "He’s an individual who is very conscientious about timelines as it relates to his career pathway. He’s very organized."

Maintaining a 4.0 GPA, Barnes was able to test out of two grades, promoting him to the classification of senior at the young age of 16.

He’s president of the National Honor Society and is fluent in Spanish, receiving an official qualification known as "Diplomas en Español" granted by the Institute Cervantes on behalf of Spain’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.

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He also ran track and played basketball throughout high school.

Barnes, who may have shattered the world record with $9 million in college scholarship offers, with IHSNO Head of School Dr. Adierah Berger at a March 2023 National Honor Society induction ceremony. (IHSNO)

Barnes applied to 200 schools, and his goal is to reach $10 million in scholarship offers by the end of May.

The top college scholarship recipient was a high school senior in Lafayette, Louisiana, who received $8.7 million in 2019, according to the Guinness Book of World Records (GWR).

Fox News Digital reached out to GWR about Barnes’ scholarship record.

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James said she’s certain Barnes' success won’t go to his head.

Barnes credits his college guidance counselor and his parents for inspiring him to work hard. (IHSNO)

"He's very humble, honest and sincere," she said. "His peers have great respect for him, and he has been very supportive of his peers, which is unique because often students just focus on themselves."

James said Barnes jumps in to help any student who needs assistance in applying to college.

Barnes said he credits James, as well as his parents, both pharmacists and graduates of Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, with inspiring him to work hard.

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"Mrs. James has been very instrumental in this journey that I'm on," Barnes said. "And my parents have been very supportive and encouraging, and I thank God for them."

"Keep God in the midst of everything you're doing, and I can say that you'll see results in some way," Barnes said. (IHSNO/Image 1 Photography)

Barnes said he wants other young people, no matter their story or their struggle, to stay the course of their education.

"Make a goal and stick to it," Barnes said.

"Make education a priority over everything else," he continued. "It's very easy to be influenced by other people or peer pressure or even just wanting to have fun all the time. But if you keep it as a priority, then you will definitely be successful whenever you put that first and put God first. Keep God in the midst of everything you're doing, and I can say that you'll see results in some way."

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