In the Philippines, a high school student named Julian Martir got a lot of attention. He said he got into 30 universities abroad and got scholarships worth over P106 million. But now, people are accusing him of not really achieving what he said he did.
Julian’s parents are a tricycle driver and a vendor. He will speak up in response to the online controversy. He wants to defend his achievements. During his gap year, he applied to colleges. His success story inspired many netizens and students.
But, some people online doubted if it was possible to get into over 30 top universities in the US and UK. Many were perplexed, and accusations of Julian fabricating his achievements started circulating.
What really happened
Negros Occidental High School (NOHS) declined Julian’s request for a congratulatory message. They said there was no evidence of his accomplishments. Assistant Principal Donna Bella Atosaga of NOHS recalled informing Julian, “”Sinabi namin sa kanya na, ‘Julian, I’m sorry but hindi namin ma-grant yung request mo kasi wala kaming papel, wala kaming first-hand information sa mga claims mo.”
In an interview with TV5, Julian insisted that his achievements were true. He said, “Totoo po talaga. Yung mga universities na inapplyan ko po ay totoo talaga.”
“I hope they stop accusing me or kung ano-ano mang sinsabi sa aking ng ibang tao,” he added.
Julian referred to a specific “incident” in 2021 during which he admitted to making an error. He said he has trouble talking and likes to write instead of sharing his thoughts. He didn’t give details, but said it was about his schoolwork.
Julians Scholarship Applications
Julian said he did the application process for international schools online. He also got recommendations from his old schools. He kept his school updated on his applications to schools abroad. “I was going back and forth po sa school ko at ininform ko po sila na nag-apply po ako sa abroad. Alam po nila,” Julian stated.
Julian also clarified that some schools sent their acceptance letters exclusively online. He said he would share more photos of his acceptance letters. Some of the content he posted online was just screenshots, so people doubted if they were real.
“At yung scholarships po na sinabi nilang peke, kasi po yung University of Arizona, binigyan po talaga ako ng physical copy talaga. Legit po talaga,” he added.
Julian’s Determination
Julian continued that he worked hard for those applications and everything is true. “And just to make my statement clear din po na all of the universities I applied na true po. Binigay ko po talaga. Pati po yung sarili ko binigay ko. Parang sin-old ko po yung soul ko,” he continued.
Julian said he has faced many bashers and haters online but he will continue to stand firm on his achievements. In the end, he said, “Ang masasabi ko po ay totoo po ang 30 universities na inapplyan ko po. Kahit iemail niyo sila ng paulit-ulit, they will give you the same response na ni-review talaga ang applications ko with scholarships.”
Confirmed Universities accepting Julian Amrtir
Meanwhile, a report from PhilSTAR Life on May 21 showed that 8 out of 30 universities confirmed sending Julian admission letters. The mentioned schools were:
- Ohio Wesleyan University
- Alfred University
- Woodbury Universit
- Webster University, Ball State University
- University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
- Michigan Technological University
- University of Massachusetts Boston
