Leesburg Student Wins College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship

LEESBURG, VA — A Leesburg student was among the winners in the fifth round of scholarship recipients in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program, which was announced on Monday.

The fifth and final round of the scholarship program focuses on awards sponsored by colleges and universities.

There are more than 3,000 winners of college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships financed by 153 U.S. colleges and universities. The schools present these awards, ranging from $500 to $2,000 annually, to students planning on attending their institutions.

The sponsor colleges and universities include 81 private and 72 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

A committee of college admissions officers and school counselors chose the winners based on their application information.

Winners are named in each state in proportion to the state's share of U.S. graduating seniors. According to the corporation, these winners "are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies."

On Monday, an additional 750 college-sponsored scholarship winners were announced, including 17 from Virginia. Here is the Leesburg student who received a scholarship in this round:

• David Jiang from Tuscarora High School received the National Merit University of Maryland Scholarship. Jiang plans to study computer science.

These winners joined 2,500 winners of prestigious National Merit Scholarships announced in May, 840 corporate-sponsored scholarship recipients named in April, and 3,000 college-sponsored scholarships awarded in June.

In all, over 7,140 high school students will be awarded approximately $28 million in National Merit Scholarships this year.

Students were entered into the National Merit Scholarship competition as juniors taking the PSAT in 2021. In September 2022, around 16,000 semifinalists were named based on each state's proportion of graduating seniors. Semifinalists were the top scoring entrants in their states and represent less than 1 percent of seniors in the U.S.

To be considered for finalist status, semifinalists had to submit a detailed scholarship application with an essay and details on extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions as well as demonstrate an outstanding academic record and have an endorsement from a high school official. Around 15,000 finalists met requirements for finalists status and were eligible to be chosen for corporate-sponsored, National Merit Scholarship-sponsored and college-sponsored award.