College-Sponsored National Merit Scholars Include 4 Herndon Students

HERNDON, VA — Four students from Herndon are among the winners of college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships in 2022.

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.

The following students from Reston received National Merit Scholarships:

• Jillian E. Schmid, a Herndon High School student from Reston, plans to study computer engineering. She received a National Merit Rochester Institute of Technology Scholarship.
• Nathan M. Ho, a Herndon High School student from Reston, plans to study computer science in college. He received a National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship.
• Patrick T. Gallagher, a Bishop O'Connell High School student from Herndon, is currently undecided on what he will study in college. He received a National Merit University of Oklahoma Scholarship.
• Adithi Prasad, a Westfield High School student from Herndon, plans to study business administration in college. She received a National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship.

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.

SEE ALSO:

• 2 Herndon Students Receive $2,500 National Merit Scholarships
  
• Herndon Student Awarded 2022 National Merit Scholarship