Buffalo Grove Students Earn 2025 National Merit Scholarships

BUFFALO GROVE, IL — The National Merit Scholarship Corporation, based in Evanston, announced this week the recipients of $2,500 scholarships. According to officials, the designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 "outstanding" finalists.

The winners from Buffalo Grove are:

• Audrey Ying Hong, Adlai E. Stevenson High School (Lincolnshire) — probable career field of computer science.
• Smriti Kumar, Adlai E. Stevenson High School (Lincolnshire) — probable career field of computer science.
• Anthony Safonov, Adlai E. Stevenson High School (Lincolnshire) — probable career field of computer science.

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 is proportional to the state's percentage of the nation's graduating high school seniors.

The winners 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; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.