ATLANTA — A senior at a South Fulton high school has finally made a decision on where she wants to attend college after having her pick of the litter.
Makenzie Thompson is sitting on $1.3 million in scholarship offers and 49 acceptance letters from colleges and universities all over the nation.
The Westlake High School senior's list of accomplishments during her tenure at the high school runs long.
"I am currently the senior class president. I am a four-year veteran and co-captain of the Blue Rain dance team. I am also the vice president of Beta Club. I am one of the baseball managers for the varsity baseball team. I also am a Georgia Merit Scholar recipient. I also am on national honor society, National Honor Society of Dance Arts," she told 11Alive's Liza Lucas.
She's also an IB certificate candidate and a work-based learning student in the school's magnet program.
"So I pretty much do it all," Thompson continued.
It wasn't always Thompson's wish to apply to this many institutions. She said she just leaped at the opportunities when they came about. At first, she only wanted to make sure she had options incase "plan A" didn't work out.
"I just took advantage of that opportunity to go ahead and apply to many schools when I went to college fairs, received a fee waiver, and took part in all that," she said.
The first acceptance letter came in from Fort Valley State University in Central Georgia. Now, they're rolling in by the dozens. Thompson said her family is keeping all of the offer letters in a folder inside their home. It's been exciting for the family to see that file get heftier as the weeks go by.
"We're running out of space," she chuckled.
She's also received acceptance letters from the University of Georgia and Purdue University among others. Although she's still waiting on a decision letter from Cornell University, Thompson has officially decided to study animal science at Tuskegee University, a historically Black college and university in Alabama.
She wants to become a small, large, and exotic veterinarian.
"I'm looking forward to a fresh start, new environment, new state, new people, me learning how to be on my own, fend for myself. Really working on my independence," she continued. "I'm excited for Tuskegee to start embracing me."
For students still waiting to hear a decision back from their university of choice, Thomson advises they should "trust the process."
"Everything will work out as it needs to be as long as you put in the hard work, stay on top of it, and don't give up," she said.
