New Canaan Students Named National Merit Scholarship Winner

NEW CANAAN, CT — The National Merit Scholarship Corporation Wednesday announced this year's National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners, including two New Canaan students.

According to a news release, the 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Aarit Bhatnagar, a St. Luke's School student, and Lillian Codd, a New Canaan High School student, were among the winners. Bhatnagar's probable career field is law and Codd's probable career field is biology.

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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.

The 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, including academic record, difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.