Students From McLean Win $2,500 National Merit Scholarships

Six students from McLean have been named winners of the 2019 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.

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.

Representing McLean High School were Caroline C. Howley and Isabella P. Swigart. Swigart will study genetics while Howley is undecided. Other winners were Christopher X. Bi, Eric Gan and Jennifer S. Pruitt of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. Bi plans to study science/research, while Gan and Pruitt will study computer science. The sixth winner, Joyce E. Yang of Georgetown Day High School, will study international relations.

Two other winners live in other towns but attend school in McLean. Carolyn Beaumont of the Potomac School plans to study science/research and Eileen Wen of Langley High School will study neuroscience.

A panel of college admissions officers and high school counselors judged the students based on their accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college courses, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation said in a release. 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.

The number of winners in each state was proportional to the state’s share of the nation’s graduating high school seniors. Additional winners will be named in June and July. By the end of the year, about 7,600 students will have won merit scholarships totaling more than $31 million. The money can be put toward any regionally accredited college or university in America.

The merit scholarship program was created in 1955. Students in grades nine through 12 vie for academic recognition and financial support. About 1.6 million students take the qualifying test every year and about 50,000 of the highest scorers have the chance to be considered.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.