2 Morris Plains Residents Win College-Sponsored Merit Scholarships

MORRIS PLAINS, NJ — Two high school students from Morris Plains have earned the prestigious college-sponsored merit scholarship from the National Merit Scholarship Competition for 2022, the organization announced.

The students are:

• Joyce Luo won the National Merit University of South Florida Scholarship. Luo plans on studying computer science next fall.
• Ananya Rath won the National Merit Northeastern University Scholarship. Rath plans to study computer science next fall.

According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, Luo and Rath are among more than 2,600 winners of National Merit Scholarships funded by American colleges and universities.

The awardees were chosen by officials at each of the sponsored universities from among the finalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program who intend to attend their university.

All selected students are awarded between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.

To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the semifinalist's academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.

A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student's earlier performance on the qualifying test.

An additional group of Scholars will be announced in July, bringing the total number of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients in this year's competition to about 4,000.