2 Reston Students Win College-Sponsored National Merit Scholarship

RESTON, VA — Two students from Reston were included in the latest round of National Merit Scholarships, which were funded by colleges and universities.

There are more than 2,900 winners of college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships. The awards are underwritten by 149 higher education institutions, including 77 private and 72 public institutions in 42 states and the District of Columbia. Scholarships range from $500 to $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the award.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced 770 corporate-sponsored scholarship winners on April 23 and National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners on May 7. Additional college-sponsored award winners will be announced on July 14.

Overall, more than 6,390 students will earn National Merit Scholarships worth about $26 million in. 2024.

Virginia had 25 college-sponsored National Merit Scholarship winners.

Reston student Asha E. Das, who attends Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, received the National Merit Tufts University Scholarship. Das' probably career field is Law, with a focus on intellectual property.

South Lakes High School student Andrew W. Wood received the National Merit University of Texas at Dallas Scholarship. His probable career field is mechanical engineering.

Students were entered into the National Merit Scholarship competition while taking the PSAT as juniors in 2023. Around 16,000 semifinalists were named based on each state's proportion of graduating seniors. Semifinalists were the top scoring students in their states and represent less than 1 percent of seniors in the U.S.

To be eligible 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 finalist status and were eligible to be chosen for corporate-sponsored, National Merit Scholarship-sponsored and college-sponsored awards. About half of finalists will win National Merit Scholarships in 2024.

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