College-Sponsored National Merit Scholars Include Ashburn Students

ASHBURN, VA — Five students from Ashburn and Sterling area schools received college-sponsored National Merit scholarships, the program announced on Wednesday.

Over 2,600 students were chosen for college-sponsored scholarships from the group of 2022 National Merit Scholarship finalists. Sponsoring colleges include 82 private institutions and 73 public institutions in 42 states and the District of Columbia. Awards are given to students who plan to attend the college and provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study.

Here are the winners from the Ashburn and Sterling area:

• Maria McDonald from Independence High School in Ashburn
  • McDonald received a scholarship from the University of Florida, where she plans to study genetics.
• Rishi Modugu from John Champe High School in Aldie
  • Modugu received a scholarship from the University of Maryland and plans to study computer science.
• Aniket Chityala from Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn
  • Chityala received a scholarship from the University of Maryland and plans to study aerospace engineering.
• Abhiram Pasupuleti from Broad Run High School in Ashburn
  • Pasupuleti received a scholarship from the University of Maryland and plans to study computer science
• Anya Ambarish from Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn
  • Ambarish received a scholarship from the University of Central Florida and plans to study engineering
• Charles Poulin from Potomac Falls High School
  • Poulin received a scholarship from Vanderbilt University and plans to study medicine.

About 7,500 high school seniors will receive National Merit Scholarships totaling about $28 million in 2022. Winners of corporate-sponsored scholarships were announced on April 27, and winners of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's $2,500 awards were named on May 11.

Additional college-sponsored award winners will be named on July 11. There will be about 4,000 college-sponsored awards in total.

High school seniors were entered into the National Merit Scholarship competition when they took the 2020 PSAT as juniors. Over 16,000 semifinalists were named in the fall based on each state's proportion of graduating seniors in the U.S. Semifinalists were the highest-scoring students, representing less than 1 percent of high school seniors.

To advance to the finalist stage, semifinalists had to submit a scholarship application with an essay, information about extracurricular activities, awards and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to show an outstanding academic record, receive a recommendation from a high school official, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirmed their PSAT performance.

Over 15,000 qualified for the finalist standing. Half of these finalists will receive National Merit Scholarships in 2022.