No bribes needed here! In-demand teenager is accepted to 55 colleges and awarded more than $1.3 million in scholarship funding – and admits she had to do it by giving up her social life to study
- Jakelia Baker was accepted to more than 50 colleges after applying to around 65
- The 17-year-old from Augusta was awarded over $1.3m in scholarship funding
- Schools include Penn State, University of Michigan, University of Oklahoma
- Baker said she did not expect to do so well adding, ‘it boosted my self esteem’
A teenager from Georgia has been accepted to more than 50 colleges and was awarded more than $1 million in scholarships.
Jakelia Baker, who currently has a 4.1 GPA, applied to around 65 schools and was accepted to 55 collages.
The 17-year-old is a senior at Lucy C. Laney High School in Augusta, Georgia, said she did not think she would have achieved so much at school.
Some of the schools Baker had been accepted to include Penn State, University of Michigan, University of Oklahoma.
She told ABC News: ‘It really boosted my confidence and my self esteem because I honestly didn’t think that I could achieve such a big goal.’
Jakelia Baker surrounded by college acceptance letters. The valedictorian at her high school in Augusta, Georgia, applied to 65 collages and was accepted to 55
Baker says she also takes part in extracurricular activities such as volleyball, basketball, golf, tennis, soccer, also in the marching band and the math team
She is a valedictorian, a school band as drum major and is on the student council.
After relentlessly applying to colleges around the country, even while at volleyball matches, she was awarded $1.3 million in scholarship funding.
Asked how she managed to do so well, Baker said she ‘gave up’ on her social life, adding ‘I had to miss out on parties and stuff’.
Baker told WJBF: ‘My momma kept me on track. We would use weekends and sometimes when I was at games I would be doing college applications.’
Teenager Jakelia Baker (left and right) was awarded $1.3 million in scholarship funding
Her mother Denise Baker, a retired army veteran, said she was ‘super proud and happy’ at her daughter’s success.
The teenager encourage future college applicants to never give up, adding, ‘the process will be hard, but keep pushing and you will reach your goals’.
Her AP Literature teacher, Bill Dunbar, told WFXG: ‘If you had a classroom full of Jakelia’s, you’d be a happy teacher.’
Baker said she was accepted to her number one pick and is set to join the school’s volleyball team when she starts the next stage of her education where she may major in bio-chemistry.