Two from Anoka-Hennepin named National Merit College-Sponsored Scholars
(06/01/2022) The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has announced this year’s college-sponsored scholarship winners, and two students from Anoka-Hennepin were selected.
Andover High School’s Conor Jolly and Champlin Park High School’s Claire Koch are among 2,600 students across the country to earn college-sponsored scholarships.
After graduation, Jolly will attend Gustavus Adolphus College and Koch the University of Minnesota. Both students were selected by their college or university of choice to receive this scholarship. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.
Students are chosen as 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 Blaine High School student Carter Anderson) earned a one-time $2,500 National Merit Scholarship and the prestige of being a National Merit Scholar, while the other finalists earn the college-sponsored awards.
College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners are a part of the distinguished group of about 7,500 high school seniors who will receive National Merit Scholarships for college undergraduate study worth nearly $28 million.