Bolingbrook Resident Awarded College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship

BOLINGBROOK, IL — On Wednesday, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced over 3,000 winners of National Merit scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities.

Bolingbrook resident and St. Francis High School student Emily Butz was awarded the National Merit University of Texas at Dallas scholarship. Butz is planning to study statistics, according to the news release.

These scholarships provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study, according to a release. An additional group of winners will be announced next month, bringing the total number of college-sponsored scholarship recipients to 3,800, the corporation said.

To compete for Merit scholarship awards, students had to be named semifinalists based on scores of the PSAT/NMSQT. Then, they had to submit a detailed application, write an essay, and be endorsed and recommended by a high school official.