Six Graduates Earn 2009 National Merit College-sponsored Scholarships
July 13, 2009 - Six Wake County Public School System graduates have received National Merit System College-sponsored scholarships.The six students include Jennifer K. Fredette and Cheryl L. Schlitter of Green Hope High, Ellis E. Gyongyos and Emily R. Myers of Enloe High, Zachary A. Martin of Broughton High and Brighid M. Milan of Panther Creek High
- Fredette plans to attend UNC-Chapel Hill and is interested in biology.
- Schiltter plans to attend UNC-Chapel Hill and is interested in music.
- Gyongyos plans to attend UNC-Chapel Hill and is interested in translation.
- Myers plans to attend New College of Florida and is interested in biomedical research.
- Martin plans to attend UNC-Chapel Hill and is interested in medicine.
- Milan to attend American University and is interested in global environmental policy.
The six students are among 2,000 additional winners of national Merit Scholarships financed by colleges and universities. These merit scholars join more than 2,800 college-sponsored award recipients who were announced in late May.
Officials of each sponsor college selected their winners from among Finalists in the national Merit Scholarship program who will attend their institution. College-sponsored awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.
This year 201 colleges and universities are sponsoring over 4,800 Merit Scholarship awards. Sponsor colleges located in 44 states and the District of Columbia, include 120 private and 81 public institutions.
This year’s competition for National Merit Scholarships began when more than 1.5 million juniors in over 22,000 high schools took the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants.
In September 2008, some 16,000 Semifinalists were named on a state representational basis, in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of 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 advance to the Finalist level of the competition, Semifinalists had to meet additional requirements. In addition to submitting a detailed scholarship application, which included an essay describing activities, interests, and goals, they had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance. About 15,000 Semifinalists attained Finalist standing, and more than half of this group were chosen to receive National Merit Scholarships.
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