Local students are winners in National Merit Scholarship contest

Several students from Chester County schools were winners in the National Merit Scholarship Corporation contest, claiming $2,500 in scholarship money. The 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program. Local winners were: Conestoga High School: Jingyuan Cui, Niathan Shreve and Lauren Jessica Harris; Radnor High School: Kail J. Yuan; Garnet Valley High School: Patrick Stoyer; Unionville High School: Nicholas Yang and Paige Young; Bishop Shanahan High School: Luke Swiatek; Downingtown High School West: Benjamin C. Codd; Bayard Rustin High School in West Chester: Maxwell M. Xu; Kennett Highi School: Zachary Hrenko; Great Valley High School: Jesse W. Xu; Avon Grove High School: Drew Lazarow;

National Merit $2,500 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. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

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 two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.

From the semifinalist group, some 15,000 students met the very high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. By the conclusion of the 2017 program, about 7,500 finalists will have earned the “Merit Scholar” title and received a total of over $32 million in college scholarships.

NMSC, a nonprofit corporation that operates without government assistance, was founded in 1955 specifically to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of scholarships offered each year are underwritten by approximately 420 independent corporate and college sponsors that share NMSC’s goals of honoring scholastically talented youth and encouraging academic excellence at all levels of education.