Lake Bluff, Lake Forest Students Awarded College-Sponsored National Merit Scholarships

LAKE BLUFF, IL — A Lake Bluff student and a Lake Forest Academy student were named among 3,200 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities Wednesday.

By the time the final list of winners is announced next month, a total of about 7,500 high school seniors will have received more than $32 million in scholarships to pursue undergraduate education, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Winners are chosen by each of the sponsoring colleges from among finalists in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship program who planned to attend the schools. The awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years.

The latest area students to be awarded scholarships are:

Anne Hong, Lake Bluff, Libertyville High School
Probable career field: Pharmacy
Hong was awarded the National Merit Rutgers Scholarship

Samuel T. Zeng, Lake in the Hills, Lake Forest Academy
Probable career field: Law
Zeng was awarded the National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship

Wednesday's announcement was the third so far this year. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) previously announced winners of corporate-sponsored awards and National Merit $2,5000 scholarships. The final announcement of college-sponsored awards has been scheduled for July 17.

Previously announced Lake Forest winners include the following student who was each awarded $2,500 from the NMSC's own funds.

Jayne Mai, Lake Forest, Lake Forest High School
Probable career field: Law

Top photo via Patch file