Dreams really do come true, and Jersey City teen Dylan Chidick is proof. Last week, the once-homeless high school senior made headlines when he was accepted to 17 different colleges and universities. Now, he’s been accepted to his 18th — the final school he applied to and ironically, his first choice.
The Hudson County organization WomenRising broke the news on Instagram by posting a photo of Dylan holding a College of New Jersey pennant and wearing a College of New Jersey hat.
{Photo credit: Instagram}
“We are ECSTATIC to say that the wait is finally over!” WomenRising wrote. Dylan Chidick has been accepted to eighteen schools, and officially, he’s been accepted to his #1! We are so proud of you, Dylan!”
The senior at Henry Snyder High School expressed his delight at getting into his dream school in the comments section. “Yayyyyyy thank you!!!” But that’s not all. He also broke the news to his own Instagram followers and there’s no hesitation about his decision. “TCNJ ’23” has already been added to his Instagram bio.
“Hello everyone! I am excited to announce that I have gotten into my dream school THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY!” Dylan wrote. “I’m am so excited to go here and bring my experience and personality to their already great campus! I WILL be commiting soon! I am so happy! AHH (sic).”
{Photo credit: Instagram}
The 17-year-old moved from Trinidad to the United States when he was seven years old. Since becoming a U.S. citizen, his family has suffered periods of homelessness. Dylan lives with his mother and his two younger twin brothers who were born with life-threatening heart conditions.
Now that Dylan has accepted admittance to The College of New Jersey, he plans on becoming the first member of his family to receive higher education.
“The dream I want to achieve, I have to have a lot of determination,” he has said. “My family went through a lot and there has been a lot of people saying, ‘you can’t do that,’ or ‘you’re not going to achieve this,’ and me – getting these acceptances – kind of verifies what I have been saying. I can do it and I will do it.”
Dylan credits his mom’s assistance from WomenRising as the reason he wants to do better. “Making herself vulnerable and putting herself out there, that made me determined to never let us get back in that situation again,” Dylan shared with CBS.
Senior class president and member of the Honor Society at Henry Snyder, Dylan was also accepted to 17 other universities and colleges, including NJCU, Ramapo, Albright, and Quinnipiac University to name a few.
“The College of New Jersey,” he said at the time.”I haven’t heard back yet, but that is my top school right now.”
Who could’ve guessed that in just a few days, Dylan’s dream would come true.
For those wanting to help Dylan with his academic endeavors, click here for his GoFund Me page. Someone has already pledged to cover his first year of college, which is incredible.
Congratulations to Dylan, the rest of the Chadick family, and WomenRising for such a heartwarming success story!
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