McLean Students Win 2019 National Merit Scholarships

MCLEAN, VA—Over 1,000 students have received the first scholarships in the 64th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the first 1,000 corporate-sponsored scholarships Wednesday, April 17. Three of the winners hail from McLean. Another winner is from Great Falls and attends Langley High School.

Christopher C. Barre of Heights School received a scholarship from Northrop Grumman and plans to study mechanical engineering. Collin T. Dent of Gonzaga College High School got a scholarship from the Raytheon Company and will likely study economics.

Liana S. Keesing of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology earned a scholarship from Leidos and will pursue electrical engineering. Marisa Mihori of Langley High School plans to pursue obstetrics/gynecology with a Northrop Grumman scholarship.

In all, Virginia has 30 corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship winners. Sponsored by 160 corporations, company foundations, and other businesses, the awards go to high school seniors. Corporations choose scholars who are children of their employees, residents of communities the company serves, or plan to pursue college majors or careers the company wants to promote.

The awards range from $500 to $10,000 per year or one-time payments between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.

Over 1.6 million juniors were considered for the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2017 Preliminary SAT (PSAT). Last September, 16,000 semifinalists were chosen based on their scores.

To advance to the finalist category, semifinalists had to complete an application detailing extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions and an essay. Students must also have an outstanding academic record, receive a recommendation from a high school official and earn SAT scores to confirm their qualifying test performance. 15,000 students met finalist requirements.

In all, around 7,600 finalists will receive National Merit Scholarships totaling over $31 million in 2019. More winners will be announced in the coming months.