FAIRFAX, VA — In the second round of scholarship winners in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program announced Wednesday, students from the Fairfax City area were among the winners.
There are 2,500 winners of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s $2,500 scholarships from its own funds and organizations sponsoring awards through the corporation. A committee of college admissions officers and school counselors chose the winners based on their application information.
Winners are named in each state in proportion to the state’s share of U.S. graduating seniors. According to the corporation, these winners “are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.” Students may use the one-time scholarships at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.
Virginia had 65 scholarship winners, five of whom live in and around Fairfax City:
These winners joined around 770 corporate-sponsored scholarship recipients named in April. These scholarships were sponsored by corporations, company foundations and other business organizations and typically go to National Merit Scholarship finalists who are employees’ children or students pursuing college studies or careers that the sponsor wants to support.
On June 5 and July 15, more scholarship recipients will be announced. Around 3,600 students will receive these college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners.
In all, over 6,870 high school students will be awarded approximately $26 million in National Merit Scholarships this year.
Students were entered into the National Merit Scholarship competition as juniors taking the PSAT in 2022. In October 2022, around 16,000 semifinalists were named based on each state’s proportion of graduating seniors. Semifinalists were the top scoring entrants in their states and represent less than 1 percent of seniors in the U.S.
To be considered for finalist status, semifinalists had to submit a detailed scholarship application with an essay and details on extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions as well as demonstrate an outstanding academic record and have an endorsement from a high school official. Around 15,000 finalists met requirements for finalists status and were eligible to be chosen for corporate-sponsored, National Merit Scholarship-sponsored and college-sponsored awards.
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