Cornelius Senior Wins 2021 National Merit Scholarship

CORNELIUS, NC — A Cornelius senior is among 58 throughout North Carolina to receive a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship for 2021.

Kylie Aleah Ray, who is homeschooled, is one of this round's winners, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation said Wednesday. Ray plans to study orthopedics.

Wednesday's list is the second round of 2021 National Merit scholarships. The first round of corporate-sponsored National Merit scholarships was announced on April 21. Winners of college-sponsored scholarships will be announced in June and July.

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.

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."

Jim Massara, Patch Staff, contributed

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