St. Ignatius College Prep Student Named National Merit Scholar

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — A student who attends St. Ignatius College Prep in Downers Grove was recently chosen from among over 16,000 students nationwide to receive a corporate-sponsored 2025 National Merit Scholarship.

The 2025 National Merit Scholar from Downers Grove is Veronica Rauch, who received a scholarship sponsored by aerospace technology company Northrop Grumman. Rauch plans to study music performance, according to a news release from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

The St. Ignatius student was one of 830 finalists who were named National Merit Scholars. Finalists were evaluated on their PSAT and National Merit Qualifying Test scores, academic records, letters of recommendations, community contributions and essay submissions.

Scholarships range from one-time payments of up to $5,000 and renewable awards of up to $10,000 annually.

When the 2025 National Merit Scholarship program comes to a close, some 6,900 finalists will have been chosen as Merit Scholars, receiving a total of close to $26 million in scholarships to attend accredited colleges and universities throughout the United States.