Seven Duval County Public Schools Students Receive College-sponsored National Merit Scholarships
Jacksonville, FL – The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced today that seven 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 2009 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 these seven students and the hard work they have put into receiving these scholarships,” said Ed Pratt-Dannals, Superintendent of Duval County Public Schools. “This year, the National Merit Scholarship Program has provided 14 Duval County public school students with scholarships for their post-secondary education through their National Achievement, National Merit and National Merit College-sponsored scholarships.”
201 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 120 private and 81 public institutions located in 44 states and the District of Columbia
Today’s winners are among approximately 8,200 distinguished high school seniors of 2009 who will receive National Merit Scholarships worth $36 million for college undergraduate study. Announced earlier this spring were winners of two other types of National Merit Scholarships—corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and National Merit $2500 Scholarships.
2009 National Merit Scholarship Competition
More than 1.5 million juniors in over 22,000 high schools entered the 2009 National Merit Scholarship competition when they took the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, some 16,000 Semifinalists were named on a state representational basis, in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the nation’s high school graduating seniors. Semifinalists were the highest scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of a state’s seniors.
To compete for Merit Scholarship awards, Semifinalists had to advance to the Finalist level of the competition by submitting a substantial amount of information and by fulfilling additional requirements. Each Finalist presented an outstanding academic record; was endorsed and recommended by a school official; earned SAT scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance; and provided an essay describing activities, interests, and goals. More than 15,000 Semifinalists met requirements for Finalist standing, and more than half of this group will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2009.
Established in 1955 to conduct the National Merit Program, NMSC is a not-for-profit corporation that operates without government assistance. The majority of National Merit Scholarships provided each year are made possible by the support of approximately 500 independent corporate and college sponsors. These sponsors join NMSC in its efforts to enhance educational opportunities for America’s scholastically talented youth and to encourage the pursuit of academic excellence.
Duval County Public Schools’ Winners
Duncan U. Fletcher High School
Jennifer Morris, University of Florida
Ryan Summers, University of Florida
Stanton College Preparatory School
Catherine Asistores, Florida State University
Evan Dodd, Auburn University
Monica Ho, University of Florida
Diana Lui, University of Florida
Raed Narvel, University of Florida
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