The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced today the 2020 National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners, and four Brookline students are included among the honorees. The students were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program.
National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.
Below are the winners from Brookline, MA:
Milena Kitterman
Probable career field: Public Health
Brookline High School, Brookline, MA
Ian Richardson
Probable career field: Engineering
Roxbury Latin School, West Roxbury, MA
Iris Yang
Probable career field: Statistics
Brookline High School, Brookline, MA
Ruiyuan Jing
Probable career field: Journalism
Salisbury School, Salisbury, CT
These scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT); contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.
Today’s news is the second announcement of winners in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. On April 22, 2020, more than 1,000 recipients of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards were named, and on June 03, 2020 and July 13, 2020, some 4,100 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners will be announced. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 7,600 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million.