<p>[Escondido</a> teen snags $160,000 scholarship to Princeton - North County Times](<a href=“http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/01/12/news/inland/2_02_991_11_08.txt]Escondido”>http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/01/12/news/inland/2_02_991_11_08.txt)</p>
<p>ESCONDIDO – For most high school seniors waiting to plan their future, just receiving one college letter with the words “You’re Accepted” is a relief. Add on to that, the phrase “all expenses paid,” and it is a dream come true.</p>
<p>That is, at least, how 17-year-old Ricardo Lopez said he felt when he was recently awarded a full four-year scholarship to Princeton University.
“It was mind blowing,” the Orange Glen High School senior said Thursday. “Ever since middle school, I have imagined and been working toward that moment when I would get my college acceptance.”</p>
<p>The scholarship, worth at least $160,000, will cover Ricardo’s tuition, books, and housing for his four years of college and even go toward some travel expenses, like his first trip out to visit the New Jersey campus later this year.</p>
<p>The award was promised to Ricardo in November, when he was one of 204 students selected from thousands around the country for the National College Match program. The program, run by a Palo Alto-based education foundation, aims to match high-achieving, low-income students with elite colleges.</p>
<p>Ricardo, who has lived in Escondido for the last nine years, is the oldest of three siblings and hopes to be the first in his family to graduate from college. His parents, he said, never had the opportunity themselves and he has learned a lot from watching their lives.</p>
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<p>I know that a number of you on this board made Princeton your first choice in the National College Match program. I hope each of you will see your dreams come true. Congratulations again to Mr. Lopez!</p>