Anoka-Hennepin has eight National Merit College-Sponsored Scholars
(06/05/19) The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has announced this year’s college-sponsored scholarship winners, and Anoka-Hennepin has eight recipients.
They include:
- Anoka High School (AHS) senior Lauren Bastian (University of Minnesota).
- Blaine High School (BHS) seniors Camryn Heinen (University of Alabama); Clayton Paquin (University of Minnesota); and Brandon Wagenfeld (University of Minnesota).
- Champlin Park High School (CPHS) seniors Andrew Coenen (University of Minnesota); Vincent Kroll (University of South Florida); Kailey Johnson (University of Minnesota); and Zachary Tverberg (University of Minnesota).
According to the NMSC, officials of each college selected their scholarship winners from among the finalists in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution.
Students are chosen to be finalists for National Merit scholarships based on their PSAT scores, which is the practice version of the SAT they take during their junior year. About 1.6 million students around the country take the test, and from those scores, about 16,000 semifinalists are chosen, who must then submit applications to become a finalist. Of the 15,000 Finalists nationwide, 2,500 students (like BHS senior Alexis Wagenfeld) earned a one-time $2,500 National Merit Scholarship and the prestige of being a National Merit Scholar, while another 2,000 students (like AHS senior Michael Goldstein) earned corporate-sponsored scholarships, ranging from $500 to $2,000 per year.