Add The New York Post on Google A Virginia high-school student hit the academic jackpot — and then she did something no one expected.
Lakeland High School senior Alexis Morrison racked up a jaw-dropping $4.67 million in scholarship offers after being accepted into more than 70 colleges.
But with a mailbox filled with letters from schools such as Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University offering full rides, she decided on Clemson University, which only offered $8,000 toward what is at least $23,000 in advertised yearly tuition.
“I was over the moon when I got in, there were tears in my house, screaming, hollering,” the teen said.
Morrison said she wasn’t even in the top five for valedictorian at her high school but noted that her resume lists extracurriculars which colleges across the country covet.
The high-school senior built a 4.1 GPA, completed more than 300 hours of community service, served as president of the National Honor Society, competed as a dancer and tutored other students.
She said she applied to so many colleges that she lost count while becoming one of Virginia’s most coveted college applicants along the way, generating nearly $5 million in scholarship offers.
Morrison said that although she received so many acceptance letters — and significantly more financial aid — from other prestigious schools. getting into Clemson was surreal because it was always her dream.
Her father, James, quipped that at least she picked a school that offered some money.
“But she chose one that at least offered money,” he said.
Morrison can also count on a $10,000 private scholarship.
“I still have a GI Bill that she can use and other benefits that could offset covering the additional costs,” her dad added.
Morrison will study biomedical engineering when she starts taking classes at Clemson in the fall.
