4 Malvern Seniors Win College-Sponsored Scholarships

MALVERN, PA — Four Great Valley High School seniors were recently named winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by universities.

These four are among more than 3,300 winners nationwide.

Below are details on Great Valley High School's winners:

Avleen Kaur, Malvern — Great Valley High School, Malvern

• Probable career field: Finance
• National Merit Villanova University Scholarship
  • Villanova is a privately supported Catholic university under the direction of the Augustinian Fathers located in a Philadelphia suburb. The five undergraduate colleges -- Liberal Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Commerce and Finance, Nursing, and the University College -- provide a balanced, liberal education to some 6,000 students. Degrees are offered in any of 34 major fields, with approximately 30 percent of the seniors continuing on to graduate studies.

Luke Liu, Malvern — Great Valley High School, Malvern

• Probable career field: Business Administration
• National Merit Northeastern University Scholarship
  • Founded in 1898, Northeastern University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. The University is a leader in interdisciplinary and use-inspired research, urban engagement, and the integration of classroom learning with real-world experience. They integrate rigorous classroom studies with experiential learning opportunities - anchored by the nation's largest, most innovative cooperative education program - designed to prepare students for a lifetime of achievement.

Allyssa J. Utecht, Malvern — Great Valley High School, Malvern

• Probable career field: Environmental Policy
• National Merit Washington And Lee University Scholarship
  • Washington and Lee is a private college for men and women devoted primarily to the liberal arts and sciences. Rich in heritage, its steady purpose is to remain one of the nation's great teaching colleges; it encourages close association between an exceptional faculty and a talented, highly motivated student body--emphasizing the individual's honor, integrity, and personal and social responsibility.

Carolyn J. Huey, Phoenixville — Great Valley High School, Malvern

• Probable career field: Mechanical Engineering
• National Merit Northeastern University Scholarship
  • Founded in 1898, Northeastern University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. The University is a leader in interdisciplinary and use-inspired research, urban engagement, and the integration of classroom learning with real-world experience. They integrate rigorous classroom studies with experiential learning opportunities - anchored by the nation's largest, most innovative cooperative education program - designed to prepare students for a lifetime of achievement.

Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the finalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution.

These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.

Sponsor colleges and universities include 92 private and 75 public institutions located in 43 states and the District of Columbia.

Additional recipients of college-sponsored awards will be announced on July 13.

By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 7,600 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million.

College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners announced today are a part of the distinguished group of about 7,600 high school seniors who will receive National Merit Scholarships for college undergraduate study worth over $30 million.

More than 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants.

Last fall, approximately 16,000 Semifinalists were named on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors.

Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of the nation’s seniors.

To compete for Merit Scholarship awards, semifinalists first had to advance to the
Finalist level of the competition by fulfilling additional requirements.

Each semifinalist was asked to submit a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance.

From the semifinalist group, some 15,000 met requirements for finalist standing, and about half of the finalists will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2020.