2 Newtown HS Students Among National Merit Scholarship Winners

NEWTOWN, CT — Among the winners of National Merit Scholarships funded by U.S. colleges and universities are two Newtown High School students, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced this week.

Lauren H. Nalajala and Collin Hoffman are among 3,100 winners from around the country who will receive between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. More winners will be announced in July.

Nalajala, who has expressed an interest in pursuing a career in mechanical engineering, is receiving a National Merit Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering Scholarship.

"Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering is an independent, four-year undergraduate institution located in Needham, MA, about 14 miles west of Boston," according to a release from the scholarship corporation. "Olin College offers a multidisciplinary, project-based curriculum leading to a bachelor of science degree in electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering or engineering."

Hoffman, who also expressed an interest in engineering, is receiving a National Merit Purdue University Scholarship.

"Purdue University is a state-assisted university system with students on five campuses," the corporation said. "Among the 25 largest colleges and universities in the nation, Purdue's West Lafayette campus enrollment exceeds 34,000. Undergraduate education at the West Lafayette campus is organized by academic schools: Agriculture; Consumer and Family Sciences; Education; Engineering; Liberal Arts; Management; Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Sciences; Science; Technology; and Veterinary Medicine."

According to the scholarship corporation, 160 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program in 2021. Sponsor colleges and universities include 85 private and 75 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

In total, about 7,500 high school seniors will receive various National Merit Scholarships for college undergraduate study worth nearly $30 million.

More than 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants.

Last fall, that number was whittled down to approximately 17,000 Semifinalists, who were named on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors. Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of the nation’s seniors.

To compete for Merit Scholarship awards, Semifinalists first had to advance to the
Finalist level of the competition by fulfilling additional requirements. Then each Semifinalist was asked to submit a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions.

"Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, and be endorsed and recommended by a high school official," according to the scholarship corporation. "From the Semifinalist group, some 16,000 met requirements for Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2021."