Published on Dec 9, 2017 
 
 Here is my reaction (and my family and friend's reaction) to my offer of admission from Stanford University. I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported me, and I am glad to share the happiest moment of my life with the world. ||||| Teen admitted to all 20 colleges and universities he applied to for admission 
 
 Micheal Brown has been accepted by all 20 of the colleges and universities he applied to. Micheal Brown has been accepted by all 20 of the colleges and universities he applied to. Photo: Courtesy Micheal Brown / Courtesy Micheal Brown 
 
 Lamar High School seniors Micheal Brown, left, and Lekha Sunder were accepted to both Stanford and Yale. Lamar High School seniors Micheal Brown, left, and Lekha Sunder were accepted to both Stanford and Yale. Photo: Courtesy Micheal Brown / Courtesy Micheal Brown 
 
 Micheal Brown, right, has been involved in several programs to help him prep for college - including the Subiendo summer leadership program at the University of Texas at Austin. Micheal Brown, right, has been involved in several programs to help him prep for college - including the Subiendo summer leadership program at the University of Texas at Austin. Photo: Courtesy Micheal Brown / Courtesy Micheal Brown 
 
 Micheal Brown has been accepted by all 20 of the colleges and universities he applied to. Micheal Brown has been accepted by all 20 of the colleges and universities he applied to. Photo: Courtesy Micheal Brown / Courtesy Micheal Brown 
 
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 Hardest colleges to get into in 2018. Hardest colleges to get into in 2018. Photo: LMTonline 
 
 25. Tufts University Acceptance rate: 15 percent SAT range: 1360 -1510 25. Tufts University Acceptance rate: 15 percent SAT range: 1360 -1510 Photo: David L. Ryan, Getty, The Boston Globe 
 
 24. Bowdoin College Acceptance rate: 15 percent SAT range: 1360 -1510 24. Bowdoin College Acceptance rate: 15 percent SAT range: 1360 -1510 Photo: Getty Images 
 
 23. Amherst College Acceptance rate: 14 percent SAT range: 1360 -1555 23. Amherst College Acceptance rate: 14 percent SAT range: 1360 -1555 Photo: Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images 
 
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 22. Cornell University Acceptance rate: 14 percent SAT range: 1330 - 1530 22. Cornell University Acceptance rate: 14 percent SAT range: 1330 - 1530 Photo: John Greim/LightRocket Via Getty Images 
 
 21. Washington University in St. Louis Acceptance rate: 17 percent SAT range: 1400 - 1570 21. Washington University in St. Louis Acceptance rate: 17 percent SAT range: 1400 - 1570 Photo: Skandalaris Center For Interdisciplinary Innovation & Entrepreneurship 
 
 20. Claremont McKenna College Acceptance rate: 9 percent SAT range: 1320 - 1490 20. Claremont McKenna College Acceptance rate: 9 percent SAT range: 1320 - 1490 Photo: Reed Saxon 
 
 19. Swarthmore College Acceptance rate: 13 percent SAT range: 1305 - 1530 19. Swarthmore College Acceptance rate: 13 percent SAT range: 1305 - 1530 Photo: Aimin Tang 
 
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 18. Johns Hopkins University Acceptance rate: 13 percent SAT range: 1400 - 1570 18. Johns Hopkins University Acceptance rate: 13 percent SAT range: 1400 - 1570 Photo: JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images 
 
 17. Rice University Acceptance rate: 15 percent SAT range: 1410 - 1570 17. Rice University Acceptance rate: 15 percent SAT range: 1410 - 1570 
 
 16. Northwestern University Acceptance rate: 11 percent SAT range: 1400 - 1560 16. Northwestern University Acceptance rate: 11 percent SAT range: 1400 - 1560 Photo: Chris Walker, TNS 
 
 15. Pomona College Acceptance rate: 9 percent SAT range: 1340 - 1540 15. Pomona College Acceptance rate: 9 percent SAT range: 1340 - 1540 Photo: Ted Soqui/Corbis Via Getty Images 
 
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 14. Harvey Mudd College Acceptance rate: 13 percent SAT range: 1420 - 1580 14. Harvey Mudd College Acceptance rate: 13 percent SAT range: 1420 - 1580 
 
 13. Dartmouth College Acceptance rate: 11 percent SAT range: 1350 - 1560 13. Dartmouth College Acceptance rate: 11 percent SAT range: 1350 - 1560 Photo: Frank Vetere, AP 
 
 12. Duke University Acceptance rate: 11 percent SAT range: 1380 - 1570 12. Duke University Acceptance rate: 11 percent SAT range: 1380 - 1570 Photo: Lance King/Getty Images 
 
 11. University of Pennsylvania Acceptance rate: 9 percent SAT range: 1380 - 1570 11. University of Pennsylvania Acceptance rate: 9 percent SAT range: 1380 - 1570 Photo: John Greim 
 
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 10. Brown University Acceptance rate: 9 percent SAT range: 1370 - 1570 10. Brown University Acceptance rate: 9 percent SAT range: 1370 - 1570 Photo: Yiming Chen, Moment Editorial/Getty Images 
 
 9. Vanderbilt University Acceptance rate: 11 percent SAT range: 1420 - 1590 9. Vanderbilt University Acceptance rate: 11 percent SAT range: 1420 - 1590 
 
 8. Columbia University Acceptance rate: 7 percent SAT range: 1410 - 1590 8. Columbia University Acceptance rate: 7 percent SAT range: 1410 - 1590 Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images 
 
 7. University of Chicago Acceptance rate: 8 percent SAT range: 1450 - 1600 7. University of Chicago Acceptance rate: 8 percent SAT range: 1450 - 1600 Photo: Jeff Greenberg/UIG Via Getty Images 
 
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 6. Princeton University Acceptance rate: 7 percent SAT range: 1400 - 1590 6. Princeton University Acceptance rate: 7 percent SAT range: 1400 - 1590 Photo: Photo For The Washington Post By Mark Makela 
 
 5. California Institute of Technology Acceptance rate: 8 percent SAT range: 1510 - 1600 5. California Institute of Technology Acceptance rate: 8 percent SAT range: 1510 - 1600 Photo: Multiple 
 
 4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Acceptance rate: 8 percent SAT range: 1460 - 1590 4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Acceptance rate: 8 percent SAT range: 1460 - 1590 Photo: Michael Dwyer, Associated Press 
 
 3. Yale University Acceptance rate: 6 percent SAT range: 1420 - 1600 3. Yale University Acceptance rate: 6 percent SAT range: 1420 - 1600 Photo: Journal Register Co. 
 
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 2. Stanford University Acceptance rate: 5 percent SAT range: 1380 - 1580 2. Stanford University Acceptance rate: 5 percent SAT range: 1380 - 1580 Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty 
 
 1. Harvard University Acceptance rate: 5 percent SAT range: 1380 - 1580 1. Harvard University Acceptance rate: 5 percent SAT range: 1380 - 1580 Photo: Darren McCollester/Getty Images 
 
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 Photo: Courtesy Micheal Brown / Courtesy Micheal Brown Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Teen admitted to all 20 colleges and universities he applied to for admission 1 / 38 Back to Gallery 
 
 When Micheal Brown was in elementary school, he watched his mom earn a college degree that expanded her options and launched her career. Now, the Lamar High School senior is ready for college himself — and thanks to her example and a 4.68 GPA, he has more options than he ever imagined. 
 
 Brown, a 17-year-old from Houston’s Third Ward, applied to 20 colleges and universities, including four Ivy League schools. He’s been accepted by every one, with a full ride to each and more than $260,000 in scholarships. 
 
 “It’s surprising I was accepted to all of them,” Brown said Sunday, a few days after the last of the acceptance emails rolled in. But his principal and counselors are not surprised at all. 
 
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 Beyond the sky-high GPA, Brown is involved in a long list of extracurricular activities, including debate. He volunteers. And the future political science major is politically involved — most recently, he worked on Mayor Sylvester Turner’s election campaign. 
 
 Brown hasn’t made a final decision yet, but he has narrowed his list to seven schools. “In no particular order,” they are: Northwestern, Georgetown, Princeton, Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and Stanford. 
 
 Every time a message from a college popped up, Brown said, “I got nervous, because I don’t think anyone ever wants to be rejected.” 
 
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 But every time, the schools said yes — from Stanford to Princeton, Amherst to Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins to the University of Texas at Austin. 
 
 It’s not privilege or money that put Brown on the radar of so many selective schools. 
 
 “If you look strictly at statistics and demographics, then the cards were stacked against him,” said Lamar principal James McSwain. The teen’s success is an example, he said, of what can happen “when the forces line up the right way” — when kids are given opportunity, support and good direction. 
 
 The Houston ISD student has benefited from several college prep programs, including EMERGE, which started in HISD and has now spread to Spring and Spring Branch ISDs. EMERGE offers workshops, guidance, college visits and test prep to help kids from underserved communities find their way to some of the best schools in the country. 
 
 Low-income kids have trouble finding their own way to top colleges, said EMERGE founder Rick Cruz. “The kids have a drive — they have the desire — but they don’t necessarily know how to access these types of opportunities.” 
 
 Brown says he got serious about college toward the end of his ninth-grade year. 
 
 “I got very serious about finding ways to get extra-involved in my community and be prepared for college admissions when I got older,” he said. He “fell in love” with debate his sophomore year, got involved in political activism — it was simply a matter of “finding what I enjoy doing and doing those things well.” 
 
 Norman Clark II, an EMERGE academic program director, started working with Brown in his junior year. From the beginning, he saw a focused, smart student with a strong sense of who he was and where he wanted to go. 
 
 “He was already on that top-tier track,” Clark said. “But this program sort of helped to expedite the process.” 
 
 Brown gives his mom, Berthinia Rutledge-Brown, much of the credit for his success. 
 
 “After she got divorced, she decided she needed to get a better job,” he said. Rutledge-Brown enrolled at Houston Community College and worked hard to become a licensed counselor when Brown was 8 or 9 years old. 
 
 “That’s the first time I understood what going to college might look like,” he said. “And seeing how important it was to my mom was important to me. I don’t even think she really knew that I saw, that it had an impact on me — but it did.” 
 
 She’s still showing him how to strive, Brown said; she now works two jobs as a chemical dependency counselor. 
 
 “The best lesson she taught me was through her actions and her working hard and dedicating herself — just doing what she tells me I should do.” 
 
 Brown is not the first area teen to excel at college admissions. Just last year, Alief ISD student Amina Mabizari was accepted by seven of the Ivy League’s eight schools. 
 
 McSwain said these stories are extreme examples of how students across the area are “making something of themselves” and finding opportunity. 
 
 “Education is the great equalizer in this country,” he said. “It enables you to move up and down socially. Education enables you to become something that maybe you never dreamed you could become.” 
 
 Brown predicts that his final college decision will be between Harvard and Stanford. He’ll visit both campuses and make a decision by the May 1 deadline. But Clark, the EMERGE program director, doesn’t want him to rush. 
 
 “He could throw a dart at any of the schools and he’s going to be just fine, so there’s no pressure coming from me,” Clark said. “He has a track record of making great decisions. Now it’s up to Micheal.” ||||| (CNN) Micheal Brown stared at the acceptance letter in front of him: It said yes. 
 
 So did the next one. And the one after that. 
 
 The 17-year-old from Houston applied to 20 of the best universities in the US. He was admitted to every single one with a full ride and $260,000 in additional scholarship offers. 
 
 "It's something I'm proud of because I see my hard work paying off, determination paying off, sacrifices paying off," the student told CNN. 
 
 Of those 20, he listed his top eight choices as: Harvard, Princeton, Northwestern, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Georgetown and Vanderbilt. 
 
 Currently a senior at Mirabeau B. Lamar High School, Micheal has been heavily involved in his school's debate team, mock trial and student government for years. He has also volunteered for political campaigns, citing his interest to "the moment I saw Barack Obama get elected." 
 
 He is set on majoring in political science, but is also considering a second degree in economics. 
 
 The first letter 
 
 When he received his first acceptance in December, he chose to do it at a friend's house to relieve the pressure of being around his whole family. 
 
 "My family had high expectations and maybe didn't realize how competitive the process is," he said. 
 
 But he still invited his biggest supporter to come along -- his mom. 
 
 Berthinia Rutledge-Brown filmed as Micheal stood in shock by the computer while his friends excitedly rallied around him. 
 
 Stanford, of course, said yes. 
 
 "After sixth grade, Mike was in control of his education," recalled the proud mom. "He was focused, he knew what he wanted and he made his own decisions." 
 
 A mother's dedication 
 
 Rutledge-Brown lost three babies before becoming pregnant with Micheal. Once she finally had a son, she poured all of her energy into giving him the very best that she possibly could. 
 
 He only received one B during his entire academic career, which she said was very difficult for the goal-getter. 
 
 On March 28, Micheal opened the last four admissions decisions that would mark his 20-school streak. 
 
 His mom, who works two jobs as a licensed chemical dependency counselor, took the afternoon off to be with him. 
 
 They are both still in shock about the college and scholarship offers. 
 
 Urging others to dream big 
 
 But he didn't want to talk about his own accomplishments alone. 
 
 "For me, it's important to highlight that I'm not the only student of color who is achieving," the teenager noted. 
 
 Micheal, far right, stands with friends Eric Muthondu and Sammantha Garcia during the Subiendo Academy at University of Texas Austin. All three are first-generation college students that have been accepted to Harvard. 
 
 He has met countless friends through organizations like QuestBridge Emerge Fellowship and Breakthrough Collaborative , which match students from low-income communities with higher education opportunities. 
 
 In fact, Micheal has at least one friend at every single Ivy League school thanks to these initiatives. He stressed the importance of using his platform to show other kids that they can dream big, too. 
 
 "I want people to be informed and get access to these same programs," he said. 
 
 The high achiever will spend the next 30 days touring additional schools before he makes his final choice on May 1. 
 
 And he's not taking a break until the fall. 
 
 This summer, he'll spend two weeks traveling around cities that have historically fought for racial justice as part of Rustic Pathways' "Race in America" program. 
 
 CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misspelled Micheal Brown's first name. ||||| Berthinia Rutledge-Brown remembers the first time she sat in a room full of parents whose children had gone to elite colleges. 
 
 “I cried because I realized that there was a chance that my child would get the education he deserves — the one I could not afford to pay for,” she said. 
 
 Her son, it turns out, has several options — and they will all be free. 
 
 Last week Ms. Rutledge-Brown’s son, Micheal Brown, opened the last of his big envelopes, and put an exclamation point at the end of an impressive streak: Mr. Brown, 17, got into all 20 highly selective colleges he applied to, all of which offered him a full ride through a combination of merit- and financial-based scholarships and grants. 
 
 “He actually earned it,” said Ms. Rutledge-Brown, a drug counselor. “I always knew Mike would get into a good school. I always knew he’d get good scholarship support. But I never imagined this.”
– Micheal Brown heard back from the first college in December. The Houston 12th-grader was accepted to Stanford, a school he'd imagined attending for years; his mom filmed his joyful reaction. Since then, he's been accepted to every single one of the 20 universities to which he applied—some of the country's best, from four Ivy League schools to small and "highly selective" schools, per the New York Times. And not only that: The 17-year-old, who plans on majoring in political science, has been offered a full scholarship at each and every one, CNN reports. He's narrowed it down to his top seven (Harvard, Princeton, Northwestern, Yale, Penn, Stanford, Georgetown) and will spend the next month touring schools before making a decision on May 1. "It's something I'm proud of because I see my hard work paying off, determination paying off, sacrifices paying off," he says. Brown credits his mom, Berthinia Rutledge-Brown. "After she got divorced, she decided she needed to get a better job," he tells the Houston Chronicle, so she got a college degree and now works two jobs as a licensed chemical dependency counselor. "The best lesson she taught me was through her actions and her working hard and dedicating herself." Brown has a 4.68 GPA; is active with Mirabeau B. Lamar High School's debate team and student government; has worked with political campaigns; and has been involved with initiatives that match kids from low-income communities with higher-ed opportunities. In addition to the full rides he's been offered, he's secured $260,000 in additional scholarship money.