On Saturday, May 18, Mount Paran Christian School celebrated the graduation of 114 seniors at Turner Chapel A.M.E. church. Led by Valedictorian Sydney McCune and Salutatorian Caroline Bethel, the MPCS class of 2024 is comprised of students who have been accepted into some of the nation’s finest colleges and universities.
The celebration started on Friday with the annual senior parade. The fifth-annual senior parade is a carryover tradition born of the COVID years. In addition to senior chapel and honors night, the parade provides a final opportunity to recognize the hard work, dedication, and accomplishments of the graduating class.
On the afternoon of Friday, May 17, seniors and their families decorated their cars with balloons, streamers, posters, and flags representing their college destinations, to take part in the senior parade through the MPCS campus. MPCS teachers, staff, parents, and underclassmen were stationed in cheering positions along the school parade route.
ABOUT THE CLASS OF 2024
The class of 2024’s many accomplishments included acceptance into some of the nation’s finest colleges and universities. Students have received acceptance into 108 colleges and universities of which 22 are in-state and 86 are out-of-state. Out of the 108 acceptances, 67 are public schools and 41 are private schools. Out of the 41 private schools, 20 are Christian colleges.
Some of the highly-selective school acceptances are: Boston College, Clemson, Furman University, Georgia Tech, Northeastern University, Pepperdine University, Pratt Institute , Purdue, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, SMU, Spelman, TCU, Ohio State, University of Georgia, University of Miami, Michigan, University of Richmond, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and Wheaton College.
The top five colleges that will be attended by the class of 2024 students are:
1. University of Georgia — 14 students to attend (28 admits; 58% acceptance rate)
2. University of Alabama — 11 students to attend
3. Kennesaw State University — 8 students to attend
4. Auburn University and Georgia College and State University — each has 7 students to attend.
5. Georgia Institute of Technology – 6 students to attend. (7 admits; 50% acceptance rate)
Out of all scholarship funds reported from the class of 2024, two students were selected as National Merit Scholar finalists; 65 students will receive Merit-Based academic achievement scholarships, 1 Arts scholarship; and 19 students will receive athletic scholarships all of which total more than 8.8 million dollars of combined merit-based, performing/visual arts, and athletic scholarship monies. This does not include an estimated 3.4 million dollars of HOPE/Zell Miller scholarship funding that totals for the class of 2024 an estimated 12.2 million dollars of scholarship offerings!
About:
Mount Paran Christian School, the largest private Christian school in Cobb County, is a non-denominational, college-preparatory school for students in preschool age three through grade 12. MPCS is committed to excellence in academics, award-winning arts, and championship athletics, all within a Christian environment with small class sizes. Founded in 1976, MPCS is fully accredited (SAIS/Cognia) and located near Kennesaw Mountain on a 68-acre collegiate-like campus. Providing academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment, MPCS unites with home and church to prepare servant-leaders to honor God, love others, and walk in Truth.
