DOYLESTOWN, PA — Alex Zeyu Tao of Newtown, a student at Council Rock High School North, has been named the winner of the corporate-sponsored National Merit Edward J. Keating Scholarship from the FMC Corporation.
FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company, provides innovative solutions for crop protection, plant health, and professional pest and turf management to growers around the world.
Tao, who is considering a career in the field of science/research, was selected from students who advanced to the finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met the 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.
In September 2024, 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 and represented 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.
By the conclusion of the 2025 competition, more than 6,930 finalists will have been selected to receive National Merit Scholarships totaling nearly $26 million. 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.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
