Six Students Earn National Merit Scholarships
April 21, 2008 - Five seniors attending Wake County Public School System high schools were among 1,100 students from across the nation to be named in the first group of National Merit Scholarship winners for 2008, according to an announcement from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.The five students are Paul R. Anderson of Green Hope High, Yuen Ho of Cary High, Nicole A. May of Green Hope High, Kimberly C. Scott of Green Hope High and Matthew D. Woelfle of Wake Forest Rolesville High.
Anderson earned a National Merit Lockheed Martin Scholarship. Ho earned a National Merit GlaxoSmithKline Scholarship. May earned a National Merit Bayer Scholarship. Scott earned a National Merit BB&T Scholarship. Woelfle earned a National Merit Siemens Scholarship.
These Scholars were selected from Finalists in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program who meet the criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate organizations generally provide National Merit Scholarships for Finalists who are children of their employees, residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the grantor wishes to encourage.
Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends that range from $500 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.
2008 National Merit Scholarship Competition
More than 1.4 million juniors in over 21,000 high schools entered the 2008 National Merit Scholarship competition when they took the 2006 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants.
In September 2007, some 16,000 Semifinalists were designated on a state representational basis, in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the nation’s high school graduating seniors. Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of a state’s seniors.
To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, Semifinalists had to fulfill requirements to advance to Finalist standing. In addition to submitting a detailed scholarship application, which included an essay describing activities, interests, and goals, Semifinalists had to have an outstanding academic record; be endorsed and recommended by a school official; and earn SAT scores that confirmed their qualifying test performance. Some 15,000 Semifinalists met Finalist requirements.
Established in 1955 to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program, NMSC is a
not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance.
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