Getting into college was no problem for Texas high school student Michael Brown. He applied to 20 and got into all of them. And even better: each one promised him a full ride.

Michael Brown is a senior at Lamar High School in Houston, Texas. At a young age he knew sports weren’t for him and so he began to take his education very seriously in middle school. At Lamar, Brown is involved in extracurriculars such as the Debate Team and Key Club. He has also logged many hours of community service along with experiencing different internships. On top of this Brown recorded an astounding 4.68 GPA, as well as very high test scores on the ACT (34) and SAT (1540).

All of Brown’s hard work paid off: Brown received full-ride scholarships from each of the 20 schools, through merit and financial-based scholarships and grants.

The list of schools Brown applied to, and got acceptance letters from, ranges from Ivy League schools such as Yale, Harvard, and Princeton, to big schools like the University of Michigan, and even small liberal arts colleges like Pomona College. Brown is one of the very few to get accepted into all eight Ivy League schools, and even more rare, to get accepted into 20 of the finest institutions in America.

It is great that he has gotten into all 20 schools he applied to. But this raises some questions. Is it really necessary to apply to 20 colleges?

Mrs. McDowell is one of the college guidance counselors at Williston. She does not advocate applying to such a massive amount of schools.

“I do not recommend applying to this many colleges,” said McDowell. “It creates a ton of work for the student and that time can be better spent on homework or on other passions. I would recommend applying to eight to ten colleges.”

Recently, Brown has received some criticism from local Fox News stations, stating that he has taken away opportunities from other students. Senior Oliver Lawrence, however, takes a different view on the situation.

“There are so many applicants that are qualified, getting in is a crapshoot,” said Oliver. “How was he supposed to know he was going to get into all 20? I was a part of a mock admissions scenario at St. Lawrence University and experienced firsthand the unpredictability of the college process.”