RA Seniors Offered Over $14 Million in Academic Scholarships

PHOENIXVILLE, PA – Tracey Behrens O’Brien, Academic and College Counselor for the Renaissance Academy Charter School, was pleased to announce that the seniors of the Renaissance Academy Class of 2020 have already earned more than 14 million dollars in offered college scholarship money.

These 74 seniors have been accepted to universities such as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Dickinson College, Boston University, Bucknell University, University of Rochester, Ohio State University, Olin College of Engineering, University of Michigan, American University, George Washington University, and Swarthmore College. They have been collectively offered (to date) a scholarship total of $14,035,314.00, a new Renaissance Academy merit scholarship school record.

Some of the student scholarships offered to date include a $160,000 Zacharias Honors Scholarship to Angelina Pagano to attend Ursinus College’s biochemistry program; Gettysburg College offered Kathryn Guevin a $165,000 Abraham Lincoln Scholarship; Susquehanna University offered Nathan Te a $152,000 scholarship; Drexel University offered Nissi Vinnakota a $63,600 AJ Drexel Scholarship; Olin College of Engineering offered Jeremy Wenger a half-tuition $100,000 scholarship; Sarah Trexler was awarded a $75,000 Presidential Scholarship from the University of Richmond; and the University of Rochester offered Carly Higgins an Early Collegiate Scholarship of $80,000 to attend its Biological Sciences: Molecular Genetics program.

Mrs. Behrens O’Brien notes that nearly all of the scholarships have been awarded to the students by the individual universities, not from scholarship search sites. “It is so exciting to see an unprecedented number of students in the Class of 2020 being recognized by prestigious colleges. RA is a young school; this is only our 15th graduating class. We do not have the advantage of time that the district schools around us have had to establish themselves and the quality of their students. The Class of 2020 has left quite a legacy through their academic and extracurricular achievements! It has been the highlight of my career to work alongside this class as they prepare for their post-secondary journey."

Established in 1999, Renaissance Academy is a fully-accredited, K-12, award-winning, tuition-free, college prep charter school located in Phoenixville, PA. The school currently educates over 1060 students from 20 surrounding school districts. Renaissance Academy was named as one of US News & World Report’s 2020 Best High Schools in America. More information on the school can be found at www.rak12.org.