National Merit Scholarship Winners Announced For Scotch Plains

SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ — After a rigorous qualification process, two students from Scotch Plains high schools have earned National Merit Scholarships, according an announcement on Wednesday.

The students from two different high schools in Scotch Plains each won a $2,500 annual scholarship to college.

Danielle Kang, who attends the Academy for Information Technology, was one of the winners. Kang's probable career field is statistics, according to the announcement.

Joshua Seewald of Union County Magnet High School also won a $2,500 scholarship with an intended field in neuroscience.

These Scholars 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.

This information included their academic record with difficulty of subject levels studied and grades earned, Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test scores, contributions and leadership in school and community activities, an essay written by the finalist and a recommendation written by a high school official.

This year's National Merit Scholarship Program began in Oct. of 2020 when high school juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT, which served as an initial screen of program entrants.

Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors, were named semifinalists on a state-representational basis. More than 16,000 semifinalists had an opportunity to continue in the competition.

From the semifinalist group, over 15,000 students met the very high academic standards
and other requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. By the conclusion of
the 2022 program, about 7,500 Finalists will have earned the “Merit Scholar” title and received a
total of nearly $28 million in college scholarships.

Last year, among nearby districts, South Orange-Maplewood had 10 semifinalists, Summit High School had five, Chatham High School had three, Westfield High had two, Scotch Plains High had two, and Madison High had two. Millburn High School had a whopping 32 semifinalists.

Most other New Jersey high schools with more than 10 were magnet or private schools.

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