The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) recently announced over 2,900 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities, and the most recent winners of the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program include seniors from Campbell High School, Pope High School, Walton High School, and Wheeler High School. 
Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program finalists who plan to attend their institution. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. An additional group of Scholars will be announced in July, bringing the total number of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients in the 2024 competition to more than 3,600. 
This year, 149 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 77 private and 72 public institutions from 42 states and the District of Columbia. 
Cobb’s most recent National Merit Scholars follow the announcements of Cobb’s Corporate-Sponsored National Merit Scholars and Cobb’s $2500 National Merit Scholars.
By the conclusion of this year’s competition, more than 6,870 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $26 million. 
High school juniors entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. In September 2023, more than 16,000 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, representing less than one percent 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 scholarship 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, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirmed their qualifying test performance. From the Semifinalist group, over 15,000 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. 
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. Most National Merit Scholarships offered each year are underwritten by some 320 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.
Zara A. Khan, Campbell High School 
Probable career field: Linguistics 
National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship: The University of Southern California is private, coeducational, and nonsectarian and is located in the heart of the city of Los Angeles. Undergraduate enrollment is nearly 14,000 students. The College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences is complemented by 19 professional and graduate schools offering undergraduate and graduate degrees. Graduate enrollment is about 12,000.
Sophia R. Higgins, Campbell High School
Probable career field: Education 
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship: Founded in 1785, the University of Georgia is the oldest chartered state university in the country. The university is located in Athens, Georgia, on a campus extending over 3,500 acres. Enrollment is over 40,000. There are eighteen colleges and schools, which offer Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees in more than 250 different academic programs.
Jay Z. Natu, Pope High School
Probable career field: Biochemistry 
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship: Founded in 1785, the University of Georgia is the oldest chartered state university in the country. The university is located in Athens, Georgia, on a campus extending over 3,500 acres. Enrollment is over 40,000. There are eighteen colleges and schools, which offer Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees in more than 250 different academic programs.
Simon G. O'Connor, Pope High School
Probable career field: Mathematics 
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship: Founded in 1785, the University of Georgia is the oldest chartered state university in the country. The university is located in Athens, Georgia, on a campus extending over 3,500 acres. Enrollment is over 40,000. There are eighteen colleges and schools, which offer Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees in more than 250 different academic programs.
Michael J. Soule, Pope High School
Probable career field: Business 
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship: Founded in 1785, the University of Georgia is the oldest chartered state university in the country. The university is located in Athens, Georgia, on a campus extending over 3,500 acres. Enrollment is over 40,000. There are eighteen colleges and schools, which offer Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees in more than 250 different academic programs.
Sarah K. Clark, Walton High School
Probable career field: Environmental Engineering 
National Merit Auburn University Scholarship: Auburn University is a nationally ranked land-grant institution recognized for its commitment to world-class scholarship, interdisciplinary research with an elite, top-tier Carnegie R1 classification, life-changing outreach with Carnegie's Community Engagement designation, and an undergraduate education experience second-to-none. Auburn's commitment to active student engagement, professional success, and public/private partnership drives a growing reputation for outreach and extension that delivers broad impact.
Diya A. Garrepally, Wheeler High School
Probable career field: Pharmaceutical Science
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship: Founded in 1785, the University of Georgia is the oldest chartered state university in the country. The university is located in Athens, Georgia, on a campus extending over 3,500 acres. Enrollment is over 40,000. There are eighteen colleges and schools, which offer Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees in more than 250 different academic programs.
Katherine T. Carter, Wheeler High School
Probable career field: Healthcare 
National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship: Founded in 1785, the University of Georgia is the oldest chartered state university in the country. The university is located in Athens, Georgia, on a campus extending over 3,500 acres. Enrollment is over 40,000. There are eighteen colleges and schools, which offer Bachelor's, Master's and Doctoral degrees in more than 250 different academic programs.
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