Kenyari Sawyer, a 17-year-old senior at Monroe High School, sets the tone for young Black excellence by applying to nearly 100 colleges and obtaining acceptance letters from half of them at no cost.

"I started applying on August 1. The first two colleges I applied to were Cleveland and Mississippi, and I did not think I was going to get accepted into those. Then I was like, this is how it goes? This is an easy process, and I just started going from there," Sawyer told FOX 31 News.

Sawyer has been accepted to 48 college institutions after applying to 92 colleges over five months, admitting to half of them without paying application fees. Her moment of achievement doesn't stop there; she also received an estimated total of half a million dollars in scholarships from:

  • Dillard University $40,000 ($10,000 per year)
  • Mary Baldwin University $88,000 ($22,000 per year)
  • Spring Hill College $24,000 (6,000 per year)
  • Norte Dame of Maryland $80,000 ($20,000 per year)
  • New England College $32,000 per year
  • Arizona State University $62,000 ($15,500 per year)
  • Miles College $10,000 ($2,500 per year)
  • Jacksonville University $116,000 ($29,000 per year)
  • Grace College $48,000 ($12,000 per year)