The Class of 2017 at Cristo Rey Columbus High School paraded like rock stars through the gymnasium on Wednesday to clapping and shrieking from the underclassmen.

And in an important way, they are: All 47 seniors have been accepted to at least one college and most to multiple schools. Many will be the first in their families to attend college. They've been awarded more than $1 million so far in academic scholarships, the school announced.

Cristo Rey, a private Catholic high school that started four years ago Downtown, teaches exclusively low-income students. This is its first graduating class.

The school is part of a network of 32 Cristo Rey locations nationwide that are teaching nearly 11,000 students. About 97 percent are minorities. College is a promise that the schools make to ninth-graders as they start, said Jim Foley, president of Cristo Rey Columbus.

"We told you all along if you stuck to the program, you're going to get accepted into college," Foley told the assembly. "You worked very hard to make that happen, and we're so very proud of you."

He asked the underclassmen to witness this achievement. "Seeing what they have done, let it be etched into your heart that you are going to do the same thing," Foley said. "You are going to graduate from high school, you are going to get accepted to college, you are going to graduate from college."

Not everyone makes it into the school, or through it. The admissions process is selective and requires an entrance exam, letters of recommendation and evaluation of test scores and disciplinary and attendance records. When The Dispatch first reported on the start of Cristo Rey Columbus in August 2013, about 75 ninth-graders had enrolled.

"Some students' families moved outside of central Ohio, and the other students decided Cristo Rey Columbus was not for them," said spokeswoman Lisa Griffin by email. "It's a rigorous program academically, coupled with the professional work-study program. These students usually determine if it's the right fit very early on after starting their freshman year."

Students take college-preparatory classes four days a week, and on the fifth day they perform work-study at a participating business. Cristo Rey students can be found at banks, law firms, utility companies, medical facilities and nonprofit organizations throughout the city.

Tuition is $13,000 a year, but families pay between $250 and $2,500 based on their income. The rest comes from donors, vouchers and work-study employers.

The summer before ninth grade, the students go through a summer "boot camp" to go over the soft skills needed in a professional setting, including how to shake hands and look people in the eye when talking.

Alex Green, 17, did his work-study during his first two years at Mount Carmel West and East hospitals and the past two years working at COSI doing science demonstrations for visitors.

Publicly explaining concepts so that all age levels can understand is good practice in dealing with kids, he said. He hopes to become a pediatric neurosurgeon.

The Dispatch spoke with Green when he was 14 and just starting at Cristo Rey. At the time, he lived on the West Side with his mother, Chanelle Green, who was critically ill. Her struggle with three autoimmune diseases sparked his interest in medicine. She died six months later, in February 2014, and he now lives with his older brother, sister-in-law and nephews.

"After my mom passed away, I think being here helped me to get through it and not get consumed by it," Green said on Wednesday. And the small class size and attention from his college counselor, he said, made a big difference.

The University of San Diego, his first choice for school, has awarded him a $50,000 scholarship. After that, the plan is medical school and a residency in general surgery.

He's looking at 12 to 14 more years of schooling, he said.

Isn't that daunting?

"No, I like school and I love learning," he said.