A Nigerian teen has earned 19 scholarship offers from the United States and Canada worth more than $5 million.

After securing 19 full-ride scholarship offers from universities around the United States and Canada, one Nigerian teenager must feel as though she has the world at her feet.

According to acceptance records and estimates of financial aid awards, Victory Yinka-Banjo, a 17-year-old high school graduate, was given more than $5 million in scholarship money for an undergraduate programme of study.
"It's all all a little surreal. Since I didn't think any school would welcome me, I applied to a lot of schools "Victory boasted to CNN about her academic excellence.

Victory was born in Nigeria to Nigerian parents Chika Yinka-Banjo, a senior lecturer at the University of Lagos, and Adeyinka Banjo, a private sector procurement and supply chain executive. Victory was offered full scholarships to Yale College, Princeton University, Harvard College, and Brown University.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Virginia all offered scholarships.

Victory was awarded the University of Toronto's Lester B. Pearson scholarship and the University of British Columbia's Karen McKellin International Leader of Tomorrow (KMILOT) scholarship in Canada.
Victory said, "Their admissions procedures are highly selective." "Only the best of the best are accepted. But you can imagine how I have to remind myself on a regular basis that I really got into these classes. It's incredible!"

Academic advancements

Victory was a senior prefect in high school and rose to national prominence in late 2020 after receiving all As on her West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The University of Cambridge International Examination had ranked the Nigerian teen as the "Top in the World" in English as a second language (speaking endorsement) a few months prior (CIE). Victory acquitted herself admirably on the Cambridge IGCSE exam, earning A*s in all six subjects she took.
More than 30 smartphone games have been developed by this 9-year-old.
More than 30 smartphone games have been developed by this 9-year-old.
Victory told CNN that her impressive accomplishments are the result of a lot of hard work.
"They have made me feel genuinely proud of the years of hard work I have put into various aspects of my life. I'm slowly realising that I'm deserving of them" she said.

"My many scholarship offers have helped me stand taller, smile bigger, and pat myself on the back more often," the teen said.
Victory plans to major in Computational Biology. She is, however, always debating which school to attend, having been courted by a number of prestigious institutions.

"I'm also researching some of the schools at the top of my list, such as Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Duke, and Johns Hopkins, and trying to compare and contrast all of them thoroughly," she told CNN.
Victory's mother, Chika, believes her daughter's storey will serve as an inspiration to other young Nigerians.

"It's worth noting that she's not one of the Nigerian-Americans who often gain admission to these schools due to their advantage of being born and raised in the United States. She finished high school in this country [Nigeria]. It would be fantastic if her storey could be used to inspire our country's youth "CNN was told by her.
Faith, parental guidance, and discipline are all factors Victory credits for her academic achievement. She now spends some of her spare time on the radio tutoring other university admissions candidates in subjects like algebra, English language, biology, chemistry, and physics.