Alameda Student Chosen For Prestigious National Merit Scholarship

ALAMEDA, CA — The winners of this year’s $2500 National Merit Scholarships, including one from Alameda, were announced on Wednesday by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The students were chosen from a pool of 15,000 national finalists representing fewer than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors. California had 322 scholarship winners.

Catie R. Long, an Alameda resident who is a senior at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, plans a career as a writer.

She and the other winners were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors who reviewed academic records, Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test scores, contributions and leadership in school and community activities, an essay written by the finalist, and a recommendation written by a high school official.

On June 7 and July 10, more scholarship recipients will be announced. Around 3,800 students across the nation will receive these college-sponsored Merit Scholarships.

In all, 7,250 scholarships worth nearly $28 million will be awarded in multiple rounds of this year's National Merit Scholarship competition which began when juniors took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The number of semifinalists in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.