9 Students From Howard County Win College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship​ In Third Round

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Nine students from Howard County have been named scholarship recipients in the third round of the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program announced Wednesday.

There are more than 3,000 winners of college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships financed by 153 U.S. colleges and universities. The schools present these awards, ranging from $500 to $2,000 annually, to students planning on attending their institutions. On July 10, more scholarship recipients will be announced.

The sponsor colleges and universities include 81 private and 72 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia. A committee of college admissions officers and school counselors chose the winners based on their application information.

Maryland had 46 scholarship winners total in the third round, including the following Howard County students:

• Alexander Z. Cui, Clarksville; probable career field: physics; River Hill High School; National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship
• Raghav Chakravarthy, Ellicott City; probable career field: computer science; Centennial High School; National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship
• Emeline A. DeGiulio, Ellicott City; probable career field: computer science; Howard High School; National Merit Brigham Young University Scholarship
• Laura S. Jia, Ellicott City; probable career field: computer science; Marriotts Ridge High School; National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship
• Akhil S. Karumuri, Ellicott City; probable career field: computer science; Mount Hebron High School; National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship
• Julia J. Lee, Ellicott City; undecided career field; Marriotts Ridge High School; National Merit Vanderbilt University Scholarship
• Alexander R. Rauch, Ellicott City; probable career field: computer programming; Centennial High School; National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship
• Raymond X. Yang, Ellicott City; probable career field: finance; Centennial High School; National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship
• Ray Zong, Ellicott City; probable career field: mathematics; Centennial High School; National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship

In all, more than 7,140 high school students will be awarded approximately $28 million in National Merit Scholarships this year. Students were entered into the National Merit Scholarship competition as juniors taking the PSAT in 2021. In September 2022, around 16,000 semifinalists were named based on each state's proportion of graduating seniors. Semifinalists were the top scoring entrants in their states and represent less than 1 percent of seniors in the U.S.

To be considered for finalist status, semifinalists had to submit a detailed scholarship application with an essay and details on extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions as well as demonstrate an outstanding academic record and have an endorsement from a high school official. Around 15,000 finalists met requirements for finalists status and were eligible to be chosen for corporate-sponsored, National Merit Scholarship-sponsored and college-sponsored award.