Rachel Canning: Teenager who sued her parents wins $56,000 scholarship

Rachel Canning smiles during a hearing at the Morris County Courthouse, Tuesday, March 4, 2014, in Morristown, N.J. Canning, the New Jersey honor student who sued to get her parents to support her after she moved out of their home, has reunited with her p (AP Photo/The Star-Ledger, John O'Boyle, Pool, File)

The New Jersey teenager who sued her parents for refusing to pay for her education has won a $56,000 scholarship to go to university in Massachusetts.

Rachel Canning is set to attend Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts, and it seems she won't be going empty-handed after all.

On Saturday, she posted on her Facebook page: "Decision made. WNE U class of 2018 BME Major w/ 56,000$ scholarship". She deleted her status on Tuesday.

In an email to USA Today, a WNEU spokesman said that merit scholarships run between $22,000 and $66,000 over the course of four years.

The teenager made headlines after suing her parents claiming they refused to pay for her education, even after she received acceptance letters from several universities.

The cheerleader also alleged her parents were abusive, hated her boyfriend and contributed to her eating disorder.

The student also claimed she had been living at her friend’s house for months because her parents threw her out of the family home.

Her parents, Elizabeth and Sean Canning, said the teenager left home voluntarily after she allegedly refused to break up with her boyfriend, who they claimed was a bad influence on her, and failed to follow basic house rules such as keeping her curfew.

Ms Canning lost her lawsuit seeking $650 (£390) in weekly child support from her parents, the payment of the remainder of her private high school tuition, and a fund for her future college tuition, after a judge dismissed her case warning it could "open the gates for 12-year-olds to sue for an Xbox".