2nd Round Of National Merit Scholarships: 9 Denver Winners

DENVER, CO — Thirty-eight students from Colorado are winners of the second round of the National Merit Scholarships, which award $2500 to each recipient.

The first round of corporate-sponsored scholarships were announced April 21 and included 16 students from Colorado.

For each state, the number of winners is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors. The program says the winners are the finalists “judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies.”

More than 1.5 million students applied for the highly competitive scholarship and the program says that around 7,500 students will go on to win scholarships in 2021 that total $30 million. Winners of the college-sponsored scholarship will be announced in June and July.

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Here are the winners of the $2,500 scholarships from Denver schools:

• Ava R. Barish, East High School
• Serena L. Barish, East High School
• Peter E. Carpenter, Colorado Academy
• Caelen J. Hilty, George Washington High School
• Sarah E. Mitchell, Thomas Jefferson High School
• Catherine O'Halloran, Colorado Academy
• Carter A. Ottele, Denver School of the Arts
• Julia M. Rehring, Northfield High School
• Jade M. Franson, D'Evelyn High School

>> View the full list of Colorado winners here.

A total of 16,000 students were selected as finalists for the scholarships and the final winners are candidates “judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.”