Bridgewater Student Wins National Merit $2,500 Scholarship

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A Bridgewater-Raritan High School student has been named a winner of the 2022 National Merit $2,500 Scholarship. The merit scholar winners, announced Wednesday, were among 2,500 winners nationwide and were selected from a pool of more than 15,000 finalists.

"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 National Merit Scholarship Corporation said in a release.

Here is the winner from Bridgewater:

Akhil Arularasu

• Probable career field: Computer Science
• School: Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School

The judges looked at grades, difficulty of courses, standardized test scores, contributions and leadership both in school and in the community, an essay and a recommendation from a high school official.

Wednesday's announcement is the second group of winners to be announced this year. In April, more than 1,000 recipients of the corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship were named —including three Bridgewater students.

By the end of the year, about 7,500 students will have won merit scholarships totaling more than $28 million in college scholarships.

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