The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of high school students in Los Angeles County on April 21 who are recipients of corporate-sponsored scholarships in 2021.
The corporate-sponsored awards are financed by about 140 corporations, company foundations and other business organizations. The NMSC estimates that about one thousand seniors nationwide have won this year’s corporate awards.
Nationwide, about 7,500 high school students are competing for a share of scholarships worth nearly $30 million in the three levels of the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship awards.
Corporate-sponsored merit scholarships are mostly renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends that range from $1,000 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients may use the awards at any accredited college or university of their choice.
Corporate sponsors provide scholarships to finalists who are children of their employees, residents of the communities in which the company serves or students who plan to pursue college majors that the sponsor wants to encourage.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation will announce on May 12 the recipients of the $2,500 scholarships.
The college-sponsored scholarship winners will be announced on June 2 and July 12.
The competition process began when high school juniors, 11th graders, in about 21,000 high schools in the United States entered the academic competition by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
The highest-scoring students in each state represent the pool of semifinalists who, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, represent less than 1% of United States high school seniors.
The next step for a semifinalist to become a finalist is to complete the required application that includes their SAT or ACT scores, an essay and a letter of recommendation by a high school official.
Finalists are then chosen on the basis of academic record, their participation in community and school activities, how they have demonstrated leadership ability, employment, awards and honors received.
From a group of about 17,000 semifinalists identified in September 2020, about 16,000 advanced to finalists. Students were notified in February if they were finalists and half of those win a scholarship.
The National Merit Scholarship winners, chosen on the basis of accomplishments, skills and potential for college success, are selected from this last group.
High school students interested in applying in future years need to talk to their school counselor to make arrangements to take the PSAT/NMSQT test. Registration is through the high school and not by the students. For information on the competition, bit.ly/2lOoQr3
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation was established in 1955 and is an independent, not-for-profit group that does not operate with government assistance. Since its founding it has awarded about 432,000 scholarships worth over $1.7 billion.
The goals of the organization are to reward academically-dedicated students, encourage academic excellence at all levels of education, promote a deeper respect for learning in general and to encourage individuals and organizations to sponsor scholarships. nationalmerit.org; bit.ly/2kyowfH
Here is the list of recipients awarded corporate-sponsored scholarships in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program in Los Angeles County by school location, school and the corporate sponsor’s scholarship.
CARSON
California Academy of Mathematics and Science
- Zoe D. Storaasli, Raytheon Co.
CERRITOS
Gretchen Whitney HS
- Ryan S. Muraliraj, Northrop Grumman Corporation
CLAREMONT
Webb School of California
- Marshall Olmos, Northrop Grumman Corporation
DIAMOND BAR
Diamond Bar HS
- Sritaran S. Bondada, Automatic Data Processing Inc.’s Henry Taub Memorial
LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE
Flintridge Preparatory School
- Claire A. Senft, Northrop Grumman Corporation
LA CRESCENTA
Crescenta Valley HS
- Prashanth S. Bhaskara, Automatic Data Processing Inc.’s Henry Taub Memorial
LOS ANGELES
Brentwood School
- Dylan S. Kane, The PwC Charitable Foundation
Hamilton HS
- Elizabeth A. Cushnir, National Distillers Distributors Foundation
Loyola HS
- Nicholas James George, Pfizer Inc.
NORTH HOLLYWOOD
North Hollywood HS
- Aiden C. McCarthy, ViacomCBS
REDONDO BEACH
Redondo Union HS
- Madeleine Mercy Bloomer, Raytheon Co.