College-Sponsored National Merit Scholars From Denver Announced

DENVER, CO — The latest group of 2021 National Merit Scholarship winners include four high school students from Denver.

The winners in our state are among thousands announced nationally this year to receive between $500 and $2,000 scholarships from colleges and universities across the country.

The latest round of National Merit Scholarship winners from Denver in 2021 include:

• Sophia L. Dinn, East High School: Tufts University Scholarship
• Braedon A. Guenther, Thomas Jefferson High School: Brandeis University Scholarship
• Isaac O. Stilwell, East High School: University of Chicago Scholarship
• Cole H. Christie, D'Evelyn High School: University of Alabama Scholarship

>> View the full list of Colorado winners here.

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National Merit scholarships via corporate-sponsored awards and the corporation's own $2,500 scholarships were announced earlier in the spring.

More than 1.5 million juniors nationally entered the 2021 National Merit scholarship program when they took the 2019 preliminary SAT/National Merit scholarship qualifying test, the corporation said. About 17,000 semifinalists, fewer than 1 percent of the country's high school seniors, were announced last fall.

Semifinalists had to write an essay and detail their extracurricular activities, awards and leadership positions to become a finalist. About half of the 16,000 finalists will be merit scholars by the end of the year, the corporation said.