Six Seniors Earn National Merit $2,500 Scholarships
May 2, 2008 - Six Wake County Public School System high school seniors earned National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.The six students are Enloe High students Vivek Bahattacharya, Richard A. Mitchell, Richard Lan, Sarah L. Bruce and Hao Lian and Taylor M. Pratt of Wakefield High.
Bhattacharya and Bruce indicated economics as a likely career. Lan’s interest is in engineering. Bruce plans to study pharmacy. Lian will study computer science. Pratt will study chemical engineering.
These students were part of the 2,500 students earning National Merit $2,500 Scholarships from a talent pool of approximately 15,000 finalists in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program.
The students were selected from 2008 National Merit Scholarship Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies. They were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors. They may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation is financing most of the single-payment National Merit $2,500 Scholarships with its own funds. Companies and businesses that sponsor awards through the corporation also help underwrite these scholarships with grants they provide in lieu of paying administrative fees.
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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