2 Spring City Residents Win National Merit Scholarships

SPRING CITY, PA — Two Spring City residents have been named among the elite young academics in the nation after winning college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships.

This round of National Merit Scholar winners includes students selected for scholarships that are fully funded by colleges and universities. Separate rounds of National Merit Scholars were sponsored by major corporations.

Both of the local winners are Owen J. Roberts students. They include include Alexander E. Arp, who plans to study mechanical engineering at University of Texas at Dallas, and Andrew J. Dybicz, who plans to study mechanical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Just 800 students across the country were selected for the final round of college-sponsored awards, and only a handful in all of Pennsylvania were selected.

Counting the college-sponsored winners announced in June, a total of 3,600 students have received awards this year.

Winners are chosen from a pool of 16,000 semifinalists, who themselves were selected from nearly 2 million students who scored well on the PSATs.

Winners are selected based on "accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies," the corporation says. Academically, this is chiefly judged by standardized test scores on PSAT, as well as grades in school classes. Outside of the classroom, judges look at an essay written by the finalist, a letter of recommendation by a high school official, and various contributions to the school and community.

A total of 146 higher education institutions participate in the program, including 72 public and 74 private schools.