Thursday already wasn't an ordinary day for 17-year-old Darielle Anderson. Before long, though, George Washington University made it one she'll never forget.

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While the Cesar Chavez High School senior was taking her AP English exam, Anderson found out that she had become the 145th D.C. student to receive a full-ride scholarship to the prestigious university.

"(I'm) glad that they saw something in me," Anderson said. "I'm just really happy to have this opportunity."

For another student who got the award, Benjamin Banneker High School senior Nia Christian, she hopes to spend her time at George Washington studying to become an engineer.

George Washington University has awarded four-year scholarships to students across the District every year for more than two decades now Anderson and Christian were two of the nine students the school awarded scholarships at eight schools citywide.

"She has been asking all week, 'Have they called?'" Darielle's mother, Kimberly, said, adding that she didn't know how she would afford tuition without the award.

Tuition, obviously, isn't cheap anywhere, but especially at the Foggy Bottom school. Each scholarship from the school is worth more than $200,000, covering tuition, room and board, books and fees.

That money doesn't go to waste, either, university President Steven Knapp says. The graduation rate for these students hovers around 90 percent.