REGION – Four area students were awarded National Merit $2,500 Scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corp.
The designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2023 program.
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.
Local scholars include Northborough’s Cozette Y. Weng, who attends Concord Academy; Shrewsbury’s James F. Kasrawi from Saint John’s, and Janet Jiaxin Liu from Palm Harbor University, Fla.; and Westborough’s Abigail J. Cushman from Westborough High School.
These scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools: the 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.
