E.O. Smith High School Students Chosen For National Merit Scholarship Awards

STORRS, CT - The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has announced this year’s National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners.

And two E.O. Smith High School students were among them - Jonathan Huang, whose probable career field is medicine and Christopher Choi, whose probable career field is academia. Choi's scholarship was underwritten by Xerox Corp.

The $2,500 Merit Scholars were chosen from a pool of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program.

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, according to the NMSC. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

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, according to the NMSC.