Last month a New Jersey teenager made international headlines when she sued her parents for financial support and college tuition. The teenage girl, Rachel Canning, has now announced she will be attending Western New England University (WNEU). She has also announced that she had been awarded with a $56,000 scholarship from the school. The Catholic high school senior eventually dropped the lawsuit against her parents and reunited with them in Lincoln Park, NJ. The honor student and cheerleader filed the lawsuit against her parents in March, claiming they threw her out and were making her pay the bills for college. Sean Canning, Rachel’s father, claims that Rachel had ran away from home in November because she didn’t want to follow the rules.

CBS 3 reached out to WNEU officials for a comment about the scholarship and they got a reply from the Assistant Vice President of Marketing Communication David Stawasz saying, “Federal privacy laws prohibit colleges and universities from discussing the status of prospective and/or current applicants for admission. Therefore, Western New England University cannot comment on the status of any prospective student” according to CBS 3 news. Tuition and mandatory fees are $33,466 for the upcoming academic year at WNEU. The total cost rises to $46,154 with room and board. According to Stawasz the maximum merit scholarship is $16,500 per year and the total can rise to $56,000 or higher over the course of four years. “Western New England University routinely offers merit scholarships to incoming freshmen based on academic achievement. These scholarships range from $5,500 to $16,500 annually and are renewable for four years – as long as a student continually meets certain academic benchmarks,” Stawasz said. “Therefore, these merit scholarships can total between $22,000 and $66,000 over the course of four years. These scholarships are awarded to all incoming freshmen who meet the academic criteria, independent of financial need.”

Rachel Canning will be attending Western New England University with a $56,000 scholarship because she met the academic criteria and was in financial need. The lawsuit that was filed in March 2014 has been dropped and she will not continue to sue her parents. For the time being she is living back and home with both her mom and dad in Lincoln Park, NJ.