Pinellas Student Receives Corporate Merit Scholarship; Four Others Receive $2,500 Awards
Angela Bousalis of Palm Harbor University High’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program, a National Merit finalist, is one of 1,100 students in the United States to receive a National Merit corporate-sponsored scholarship. She received a National Merit Ferman Motor Car Company Scholarship.
Most of the corporate-sponsored awards, provided by about 200 companies, foundations and other business organizations, are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends that range from $500 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.
Four other Pinellas students – Sam F. Zakria and Michelle Y. Wang of the IB program at St. Petersburg High, Karan Sagar of the IB program at Palm Harbor University High and Bridget K. Hendricks of Countryside High – won National Merit $2,500 scholarships, provided by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. Each student is a National Merit finalist and may use the scholarship at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university. Only 2,500 finalists received these scholarships.
This year’s National Merit competition began when more than 1.4-million juniors in more than 21,000 high schools took the 2006 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, about 16,000 semifinalists were named. To advance to the finalist level, semifinalists had to submit a detailed scholarship application, have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a school official, earn SAT scores that confirm the qualifying test performance, and write an essay describing activities, interests and goals. About 15,000 semifinalists attained finalist standing, making them eligible to compete for the scholarships. By the end of the 2008 program, about 8,200 finalists will earn the Merit Scholar title and receive a total of more than $36-million in college scholarships.
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