CINCINNATI, Ohio — Getting accepted into a university is always an exciting experience.


What You Need To Know

  • Five high school students were surprised with University of Cincinnati acceptance letters, scholarships and a full celebration

  • The university said more than 30,000 people have applied to the school, their largest pool ever

  • The university also announced that they’d used AI to create a personalized welcome video for accepted students

But this year, the University of Cincinnati made that experience extra special for five students from three Cincinnati high schools who they surprised with not only their acceptance letter but a scholarship and full-on celebration.

“Decision Day has become a celebration of this city’s future,” said Jack Miner, vice provost for enrollment management, in a university press release. “We are celebrating UC’s future students and our future leaders for Cincinnati, our state and nation.”

The students are as follows:

  • Oliver Tiani Vessah, senior at Withrow High School, received the Marian Spencer Scholarship Award/ Full-ride scholarship
  • Harsh Minhas, senior at Withrow High School, received the Marian Spencer Scholarship Award/ Full-ride scholarship
  • Owen Herzog, senior at La Salle High School, received $12,000 in scholarships
  • Nick Kolbinsky, senior at La Salle High School, received $6,000 scholarship
  • Jamiyah Turnage, senior at North College Hill High School, received $7,000 in scholarships

The university said more than 30,000 people have applied to the school, what Miiner said is their largest ever amount.

“Not only does this represent our largest applicant pool ever, but also our most diverse,” Miner said in the release. “We have seen a 20% increase in applications from Black students and a 13% increase in applications from Latinx students.”

The five soon-to-be Bearcats aren’t the only ones in for a surprise. The university also announced that they used AI to create a personalized welcome video for accepted students.

“Over the past few years, we have prided ourselves on the Decision Day surprises at local homes and high schools,” Miner said in the release. “Those in-person surprises are wonderful. But these videos allow us to deliver that same personal connection to all of our new Bearcats.”