Culture / Newsy

The Real Story of the Lamar High School Student Accepted by Every Top College He Applied To: Micheal Brown, Becoming an Overnight National Celebrity and the Best Kind of Viral Sensation

BY // 04.04.18

What do Harvard, Yale, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania have in common? They’re all Ivy League Schools, of course. And they’ve all accepted Lamar High School senior Micheal Brown and all offered him a full ride scholarship.

And they’re just four of the 20 top colleges that have.

Brown is, in short, exceptional when it comes to acceptances. He was accepted and offered full scholarships at all 20 colleges he applied to — and he applied to the best of the best.

“For me it’s very fortunate,” Brown says. “I think it’s a testament to hard work and dedication, and working through school. Achieving in your classes and being engaged in your community.”

It’s all become such a big national story that Lamar held a press conference for Brown at the school on Tuesday. Micheal Brown’s gone viral — in the best way possible.

Brown was awarded  full rides from every college through a combination of grants and merit-and-financial based scholarships. The 17-year-old also got an additional $260,000 from scholarships he pursued outside of the college application process.

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Brown’s stats are impressive, from his 4.68 GPA (at the time he applied to colleges, it’s since risen to 4.7), 1540 out of 1600 on the SAT and 34 out of 36 on the ACT.

Other schools on his list are highly selective as well, from Pomona and Claremont McKenna to Stanford and Georgetown. He cast a wide net to insure diversity in his choices, picking liberal arts schools, research-driven schools, large, medium and small schools.

“Everyone’s telling me to do different things,” Brown says of his final college choice. “But I’m just going to take my time.”

His college selection will dictate the next four years of his life, and his networking for the rest of his life, he adds. His ultimate decision is centered on the campus and college that fits him the most, and where he can pursue a strong political science program. College visits will play a big role in his analysis.

But Brown is already working toward a final May 1 decision, having whittled down the long list of 20 to seven schools: Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Northwestern, Georgetown, University of Pennsylvania and Yale. Currently, he’s leaning between Harvard and Stanford.

Getting into those two “were my big dreams,” Brown says. A viral cellphone video is proof of that. Brown’s family recorded his reaction when he discovered he got into Stanford and posted it online.

“That was the first time I knew I could get into a top college. I knew that my hard work paid off,” Brown says. “I think I earned my spot.”

Still, he recently received an email from the debate captain at Georgetown, making him more “enamored” with the school than ever. For now, the decision is in flux. Brown is grateful for the extensive list of picks he gets to choose from.

A Man in the Community

For as much as Brown studied, he devoted his time to community programs, like Breakthrough Houston, which he first got involved with in the sixth grade. His mentor Mr. Morris guided him from the start. The super achiever also credits HISD-based EMERGE, and support from Mr. Chambers and Mr. Clark.

The investment others made in him is what motivated Brown to succeed. “I think my biggest motivation was just watching my mom and all the things she did. How hard she worked, all the sacrifices she made, all the investments she’s made,” Brown says.

His mother earned her college degree when he was in elementary school. Brown has worked tirelessly to “get the results for the people who were invested in me.”

The true test of Brown’s achievements is the impact they have on others.

“I’ve gotten into 20 colleges with full rides. Why does that matter?” Brown says.

Because of the bigger picture, because of the hope it can provide other kids. “I’m actually only ranked 27th at Lamar in my class. There are a lot of smart kids,” Brown says. “A lot of smart kids.”

“Other kids can achieve regardless of their background, regardless of the struggles they overcome. That doesn’t define you. What defines you are your dream and the work that you put in to get there.”

After undergrad, Brown plans to attend law school, with an ultimate goal of working either on the Supreme Court, with Supreme Court justices, or with Congress. The political science major-to-be worked on Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s election campaign.

Brown’s career specifics aren’t nailed down yet, but he knows he’s got time.

“I want to work in some capacity where I am interacting with questions of policy and law. Finding a way to make the world a better place,” he says.

His mother, Berthinia Rutledge-Brown, is proud of him, but above all else, she is grateful. Rutledge-Brown remembers the Wednesday that the Ivy League decisions came out. “The first was a yes, the second was a yes, the third was a yes. The fourth was a yes!” she says.

Her son even got accepted to colleges he didn’t even apply to, she adds. If she had her choice, she’d pick Stanford.

“It’s all I heard about for the last eight, nine years,” Rutledge-Brown says. As his list of acceptances has grown, he’d had a lot more to consider.

But Rutledge-Brown believes her son will make the best decision for himself.

“This is what he does,” she says. “He excels.”

It’s hard to argue with that.

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