The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has released the names of the first group of winners in the 66th National Merit Scholarship Program. Approximately 1,000 distinguished high school seniors have won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 140 corporations, company foundations and other business organizations
Amy M. Huynh from LAKEVIEW CENTENNIAL High School, received the JAMES E. CASEY SCHOLARSHIP from the UPS Foundation.
Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends that range from $1,000 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.
This is the first announcement of National Merit Scholars in 2021 by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC ®). NMSC will name recipients of National Merit® $2500 Scholarships May 12 and winners of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards June 2 and July 12. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 7,500 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $30 million.
Funding for these National Merit Scholarships is provided by corporate organizations that represent nearly all sectors of American industry. Sponsors from the business community have underwritten awards offered in all 66 competitions, expending or committing approximately $834 million to support the intellectual development of the nation’s scholastically talented youth.
Over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of entrants. In September 2020, approximately 17,000 Semifinalists were designated on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors. Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than 1% of the nation’s seniors.
To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, Semifinalists had to fulfill requirements to advance to Finalist standing. Each Semifinalist was asked to complete a detailed application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record and be endorsed and recommended by a high school official. From the Semifinalist group, some 16,000 met Finalist requirements.
Winners are the Finalist candidates judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
About: NMSC, a nonprofit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of National Merit Scholarships offered each year are underwritten by some 400 independent corporate and college sponsors that support NMSC’s efforts to honor the nation’s scholastically talented youth and encourage academic excellence at all levels of education.