Two additional Washoe County high school graduates this week were named recipients of National Merit Scholarship college-sponsored awards, joining the ranks of eight Washoe County students who received the same award in June.
August Hart, who graduated from Galena High School, plans to study astrophysics at University of Nevada, Reno in the fall. Charles Scott, who graduated from Hug High School, will major in computer programming at the University of Arizona.
Both students will receive $500 to $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at their selected university.
This year, 160 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 85 private and 75 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia.
According to the non-profit corporation, more than 1.5 million high school juniors entered the 2021 contest when they took the 2019 preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship qualifying test.
Some 17,000 semifinalists were named late last year. These students were the highest-scoring entrants in each state. They represent less than 1% of the nation’s high school seniors and have to submit a detailed scholarship application that includes an essay and covers their awards and extracurricular activities to qualify.
Source: WCSD
