Arlington Students Win National Merit Scholarship

ARLINGTON, VA — The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced 2,500 National Merit Scholarship winners Wednesday, and five Arlington students made the list. These students are awarded with a $2,500 scholarship.

The following Arlington students won the National Merit Scholarship:

• Soren K. Christensen, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, probable career field is Neurosurgery.
• Johnston W. French, Washington-Lee High School, probable career field is Public Policy.
• Max M. Judish, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, probable career field is Computer Science.
• Dylan N. Klapper, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, probable career field is Biology.
• Sarkis M. Ter Martirosyan, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, probable career field is Electrical Engineering.

These students are among among 65 from Virginia chosen for the National Merit $2,500 Scholarships.

These winners were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who reviewed academic records, difficulty level of subjects studied, grades earned, scores from two standardized tests, school and community activities an essay and a recommendation written by a high school official. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.

Sponsored the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the awards go to high school seniors. 1,000 other recipients of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship were announced in April, and 4,000 college-sponsored Merit Scholarships will be announced on June 6 and July 16. By the conclusion of this year's competition, about 7,500 students will be awarded scholarships worth more than $31 million.

Over 1.6 million students were entered into the competition by taking the Preliminary SATs as juniors, which narrowed down to 15,000 finalists. Semifinalists submitted additional applications with an essay, information about extracurricular activities, leadership positions and awards, and a recommendation from a school official.

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