Burr Ridge Student Named a National Merit Scholarship Winner

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced their 2013 Merit Scholar designees and $2,500 scholarship award-winners on Monday, including Hinsdale South High School senior Justin Jinwoo Lee.

Lee, of Burr Ridge, who plans to study computer engineering in college, was named as one of about 8,000 students nationwide who earned the award, including 108 from Illinois.

According to an NMSC press release, the winners are the finalists who are determined “to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies,” based on an appraisal of academic records, standardized test scores, extracurricular activities, a recommendation and a finalist’s own essays.

The total scholarship money awarded is over $35 million, the release said, with most “underwritten by approximately 440 independent corporate and college sponsors that share NMSC’s goals of honoring scholastically talented youth and encouraging academic excellence at all levels of education.”