EVANSTON, IL — Two Evanston Township High School students were awarded cash scholarships by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
Anna Grigorescu and Aidan Thomsom, both members of ETHS’s class of 2024, were both named winners of $2,500 scholarships out of the corporation’s own funds.
Grigorescu is planning on a career in computer science, while Thomson has a probable career field of bioengineering, according to National Merit.
The pair of winners announced Wednesday was chosen by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors based on application materials from the students and their schools.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation, an Evanston-based nonprofit founded in 1955, screens high schoolers based on their performance on the PSAT as juniors, with less than 1 percent of seniors qualifying on a state-representational basis.
Earlier: 6 Evanston Township High School Seniors Honored By National Merit
Of those, nearly 94 percent qualify as finalists. And by the summer, nearly 46 percent of the 15,000 finalists will be named merit scholars and awarded scholarships — sponsored either by businesses, colleges, or the nonprofit’s own funds.
Last month, the nonprofit announced about 770 winners of corporate-sponsored scholarships offered by businesses, which are usually restricted to the families of employees.
Next month, about 3,600 winners of college-sponsored merit scholarships will be announced in two installments.
About 6,870 students will have been awarded a total of approximately $26 million worth of scholarships by the end of this year’s program.
Related: Evanston Township High School Ranked 26th Among Public Schools In Chicago Suburbs
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