(Photo/Dakota Antelman)
BOSTON – Two local high school seniors were among 840 from around the country to earn a National Merit Scholarship.
Madeline A. Jiang, of Northborough, a student at Algonquin Regional High School, earned the ADP Henry Taub Memorial Scholarship. Her possible career field is in biochemistry.
Rohan Das, of Shrewsbury, who attends the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, earned the Liberty Mutual Scholarship. Das’ possible career field is in engineering.
Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.
Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study, and they provide annual stipends that range from $1,000 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.
To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, semifinalists had to fulfill requirements to advance to finalist standing. Each semifinalist was asked to complete 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, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirmed their qualifying test performance.
