A brilliant young boy named Coby Hayes graduated from Marion High School, with a 4.32 grade point average and was awarded the prestigious Gates scholarship to study for his bachelor’s degree at Harvard University.
Coby ranked the top of his class with his grade which enabled him to be awarded the prestigious Gates Scholarship to study for his undergraduate studies. He was selected out of the pool of 5300 students who applied for the award.
He stated that the scholarship would cover his tuition, fees, room, board, books, transportation, and other personal expenses. Aside from winning the scholarship, Coby was also accepted by 20 colleges and universities across the United States including Harvard University.
“It still doesn’t feel real, I couldn’t have imagined that it was going to turn out as good as it did. I know that would be very expensive so it’s good to not have to worry about that, for that not to be a burden on us,” he said.
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Coby mentioned that he will be choosing Harvard University which he noted as his dream school. He added that the university also offered him financial aid which together with the Gates scholarship will cover his expenses and also reduce his mother’s burden.
“It’s truly an amazing honor. Between the financial aid, I’m getting from Harvard and the support of the Gates Scholarship, all of my expenses will be taken care of. It’s a huge weight off of me and my mom’s shoulders,” Coby said.
“I really love Harvard’s location. Being right there in Boston, there are several colleges in the area, and I think it will be good for networking. When I visited the campus, I felt like the black community was very welcoming. They weren’t all boujee or uppity. They made me feel welcome. It felt like home,” he added.
The application for the 2024 Gates Foundation scholarship is presently over but the application for the next cohort will soon start. You can check how to apply and meet the requirements HERE.
Despite being an excellent student, Coby was also active in other activities in the school. He was the Student Council president and involved with the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, tennis, Interact, band, and the high school quiz bowl team.
He said the college and scholarship application processes were tedious, from submitting test scores, re-writing and re-editing essays, and undergoing multiple interview sessions.
He mentioned that his other top choice even rejected him, Stanford University, However, He said those challenges only pushed him to keep going .“You can’t give up. The college process, there’s a lot of ups and downs. Most people have at least one rejection,” he said.
Coby stated that on getting to Harvard, he plans to do a double concentration in social studies and economics, after which he will proceed to law school.
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