4 Arlington High School Seniors Win Merit Scholarships

ARLINGTON, VA — Four high school seniors from Arlington County won a college-sponsored Merit Scholarship, the latest announcement of winners in the 2020 competition. Officials from colleges chose students who plan to attend their schools from a group of National Merit Scholarship finalists.

Among 30 winners from Virginia were four winners from Arlington:

• Sabrina E. Atkin of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology won a National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship. Sabrina will be studying mechanical engineering.
• Albert R. Johnson of Yorktown High School won a National Merit Purdue University Scholarship. Albert will be studying electrical engineering.
• Keegan P. Lanzillotta of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology won a National Merit Northeastern University Scholarship. Keegan will be studying computer engineering.
• Rebecca E. Stewart of Washington-Liberty High School won a National Merit University of Chicago Scholarship. Rebecca will be studying neuroscience.

There were 3,300 winners of college-sponsored awards nationwide. The scholarships come from 92 private institutions and 75 public institutions, covering 43 states and the District of Columbia.

Students were entered into the National Merit Scholarship competitions by taking the 2018 Preliminary SAT. Around 16,000 semifinalists, the highest-scoring students in each state, were chosen in proportion to each state's share of graduating high school seniors. These semifinalists represent less than 1 percent of seniors in the U.S.

The group was narrowed down further when semifinalists were asked to submit a scholarship application with an essay, recommendation from a high school official and information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists must also demonstrate an outstanding academic record and SAT or ACT scores that reinforce their PSAT performance. About 15,000 students became finalists and are considered for awards.

Additional college-sponsored scholarships will be announced on July 13, bringing the total of 2020 college-sponsored winners to 4,100. Recipients receive annual scholarships between $500 and $2,000 for up to four years of undergraduate study at the higher education institution. Around 1,000 corporate-sponsored scholarships were announced on April 22, and 2,500 of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's own awards were announced on May 13.

Three Arlington students won the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's award in May, and a Yorktown High School senior won a corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship in April.

About 7,600 finalists will win over $30 million in National Merit Scholarships in 2020