Seven Alachua County students win National Merit Scholarships

May 12, 2022

Press release from Alachua County Public Schools and National Merit Scholarship Corporation

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has announced that seven Alachua County Public School (ACPS) students are among 2500 students nationwide to win a National Merit Scholarship worth $2500. These students were chosen from among 15,000 National Merit Finalists ( ACPS had 39 finalists this year) based on having “the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.”

The students are:

Angela Chen from Buchholz, probable career field: Computer Science;
Erick Jiang from Buchholz, probable career field: Computer Programming;
Rachel Parks from Eastside, probable career field: Law;
Atharva Pathak from Eastside, probable career field: Applied Mathematics;
William Wang from Eastside, probable career field: Business; and
Xiya Zhou from Buchholz, probable career field: Electrical Engineering.

In addition, Timmy Li from Buchholz won a National Merit corporate-sponsored scholarship.

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 (PSAT/NMSQT®); contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.

NMSC finances most of these single-payment National Merit $2500 Scholarships. Corporations and company foundations that sponsor awards through NMSC also help underwrite these scholarships with grants they provide in lieu of paying administrative fees. Scholars may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.