West Hartford Student Awarded National Merit Scholarship

WEST HARTFORD, CT — West Hartford's Brooks McConnell is one of this year’s National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the winners Thursday.

He attends Hall High School.

The 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a pool of about 16,000 finalists.

National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have "the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies."

The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

These Scholars were graded on academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied
and grades earned; scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay
written by the finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.