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The Bellevue School District is proud to announce the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program winners! The National Merit Scholarship Program recently announced its Corporate-Sponsored Merit Scholarships and National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, which include several BSD students. College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in June and July.
The National Merit Scholarship Program is an annual academic competition among high school students for recognition and college scholarships that began in 1955. The program is conducted by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®), a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. United States high school students enter the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which serves as an initial screen of over 1.3 million entrants each year, and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements.
The 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding Finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
These Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the Finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®); contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.
Approximately 830 distinguished high school seniors have won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 124 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations. Also included in this category are awards supported by several foundations and individual donors who have established endowments with NMSC.
Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the Finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for Finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor 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 $1,000 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.
In February, National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists who met academic and other requirements were notified that they advanced to Finalist standing and received Certificates of Merit attesting to their recognition in the program. All National Merit Scholarship winners (Merit Scholar® awardees) will be chosen from this group of Finalists based on their abilities, skills and accomplishments.
Congratulations to the BSD students who have advanced to this next phase in the competition and will be eligible for a variety of scholarships!
Eng, Joseph
The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
In September 2024, more than 16,000 Semifinalists were named, and these academically talented high school seniors will have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 6,870 scholarships, worth nearly $26 million. National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists from the Bellevue School District include:
National Merit Scholarship winners of 2025 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join more than 382,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.
If you or your student received National Merit recognition, but was not included on this list, please contact communityrelations@bsd405.org.
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We acknowledge that we are on the indigenous land of the Coast Salish peoples who include the Duwamish, Muckleshoot and Snoqualmie peoples.
We thank these caretakers of this land who have lived and continue to live here since time immemorial. We reflect on the historic context that brings us to reside on this land and accept responsibility to interrupt erasure. We commit to an ongoing partnership with the Snoqualmie Tribe as we listen to, learn from, and lead with their guidance.
