LAKE FOREST, IL — Students from three high schools in Lake Forest, as well as a trio of Lake Forest residents who attend school outside of town, have been awarded cash scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
The $2,500 scholarships announced Wednesday are financed out of the corporation’s own funds, some of which come from donations or from businesses and company foundations that provide grants in lieu of administrative fees.
The following students are among 2,500 merit scholars nationwide to be awarded the cash scholarships, which can be spent at any regionally accredited college or university in the U.S.
Connor S. Koefelda, of Lake Bluff and Lake Forest High School, plans to pursue a career in computer programming.
Theresa Fu, of Lake Zurich and Lake Forest Academy, has a probable career field of engineering.
Tobjorn Nelson, of Glencoe and Lake Forest Academy, has a probable career field of computer science.
Gianna Keuer, of Barrington and Woodland Academy of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest, plans to pursue a career in law.
Edward Han, of Lake Forest and Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, plans to pursue a career in law.
Ronit Lodd, of Lake Forest and Stevenson High School, plans to pursue a career in business.
Ethan Zhang, of Lake Forest and Stevenson high School, has a probable career field science and research.
Scholarship winners are 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 Corporate, 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. (Last fall, six students from Lake Forest High School, five from Lake Forest Academy and one from Woodlands Academy were named semifinalists.)
Earlier: 12 Students At Lake Forest Schools Named National Merit Semifinalists
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: Lake Forest High School Ranked 5th Best Among Suburban Public Schools
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