Sam Houston High School senior Kelsey Bowie burst into tears of joy Tuesday morning as she and a small number of fellow classmates were escorted into the crowd-filled auditorium decorated with purple and silver balloons.

As the crowd cheered and applauded, Bowie and eight other Sam Houston High School seniors learned news that they had earned full-ride scholarships to Texas Christian University. Each full scholarship through the TCU Community Scholars Program is worth $260,000, university officials said.

"Receiving this scholarship will take a load off me as well as my parents. That is a really, really big thing," Bowie said. "To have a school to be willing to see you for the academic skills that you have and how far you have come and how prepared you are for that school - for them to give you that full ride, that's a big thing. They see something in me that is great."

The TCU Community Scholars Program offers more than $6 million in scholarships annually. Sam Houston is one of 13 area schools that participate in the TCU Community Scholars Program, and this year approximately 40 scholarships will be awarded to students who must go through the normal application process for admission to TCU, plus complete extra essays and interviews to be accepted into the program.

"This is definitely a dream come true," De'Aysia Barner said. "I've always wanted to become a family lawyer. With this next four years of TCU paying for everything, I'm going to be able to get all the foundation I can and just be ready for that next step. I can't wait to do that at TCU."