A total of nine students from Naperville School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204, as well as two other Naperville teens, were among those chosen as college-sponsored National Merit Scholarship winners.
Selected students will receive between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate studies at the college or university funding the scholarship.
The area students are among more than 2,900 winners chosen for this particular type of scholarship, with an additional round of winning scholars to be announced in July.
Local winners from D203, IPSD 204, IMSA, and homeschool
Naperville-area recipients are:
From Naperville North High School (D203):
- Soren Casey, National Merit Fordham University Scholarship, intends to go into finance
- Bridget Ogan, National Merit Indiana University Bloomington Scholarship, intends to go into marketing
From Naperville Central High School (D203):
- William Wang, National Merit Purdue University Scholarship, intends to go into mechanical engineering/robotics
From Metea Valley High School (IPSD 204):
- Joanna Chu, National Merit Purdue University Scholarship, intends to go into computer science
- Neal Mohan, National Merit Purdue University Scholarship, intends to go into mechanical engineering
- Moneesha Goduguchinta, National Merit Purdue University Scholarship, intends to go into aerospace engineering
From Neuqua Valley High School (IPSD 204):
- Zachar Druce-Hoffman, National Merit Iowa State University Scholarship, intends to go into aerospace engineering
- Varsha Nair, National Merit University of South Florida Scholarship, intends to go into medicine
- Aditya Rakshit, National Merit Vanderbilt University Scholarship, intends to go into computer engineering
From Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Aurora:
- Jayram Palamadai, National Merit Purdue University Scholarship, intends to go into computer science
Homeschooled:
- Teagan Bernstein-Meachum, National Merit University of Alabama Scholarship, intends to go into academia
How are scholarship winners chosen?
Winners of the scholarships initially qualify by achieving high scores on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
Applications must then be submitted, detailing extracurriculars, leadership positions, and awards, and a written essay. All entrants must also be endorsed and recommended by a high school official and earn qualifying SAT or ACT scores.
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