JACKSONVILLE - Earlier today, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced that eight Duval County Public Schools’ students were among more than 2,800 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by colleges and universities.
Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winner from among Finalists in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.
“I am proud of the 13 Duval County public school students who received scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Program this year,” said Ed Pratt-Dannals, Superintendent of Duval County Public Schools. “The National Merit Scholarship Program, along with these colleges and universities, has provided some of our brightest students with the much needed funds to be successful throughout college.”
This year, 194 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 115 private and 79 public institutions located in 43 states and the District of Columbia.
Today’s winners are among approximately 8,200 distinguished high school seniors who will receive National Merit Scholarships worth $36 million for their undergraduate studies. Earlier this spring, two other types of National Merit Scholarships were announced – corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and National Merit $2,500 Scholarships.
2008 National Merit Scholarship Competition
This year's competition for National Merit Scholarships began in October 2006 when more than 1.4 million juniors in over 21,000 high schools took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (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 state’s seniors, were named Semifinalists on a state representational basis. Only the 16,000 Semifinalists had an opportunity to continue in the competition.
Approximately 15,000 Semifinalists met the very high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. By the conclusion of the 2008 program, about 8,200 Finalists will earn the “Merit Scholar” title and receive a total of more than $36 million in college scholarships.
NMSC, a not-for-profit corporation that operates without government assistance, was founded in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of scholarships offered each year are underwritten by approximately 500 independent corporate and college sponsors that share NMSC’s goals of honoring scholastically talented youth and enhancing their educational opportunities.
Duval County Public Schools' Winners
Stanton College Preparatory School
Jessica Davis, University of Central Florida
Nikola Dragovic, New York University
Lauren Fant, University of Central Florida
Taraneh Hazrati, Florida State University
Robert Lamell, Georgia Institute of Technology
Visalak Ramachandran, University of Central Florida
Justin Spengler, New College of Florida
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
Anne Ogburn, Tulane University
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