Three Greenhills seniors earn National Merit Scholarships

Greenhills seniors Rahul Kak, Madeline Parks, and Libby Reeves have been named winners of National Merit Scholarships this year. 

The three are among only 7,500 high school students nationwide to earn the scholarships, which come with a $2,500 award. They were chosen from among 16,000 semi-finalists based on their combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners in each state is proportional to that state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating seniors.

Included in judges’ assessments were academic records, the difficulty level of classes taken, scores from standardized tests, community contributions, and an essay written by each finalist. Finalists also submitted written recommendations from officials at their schools.

The competition began with about 1.6 million juniors at 22,000 high schools around the nation. They entered the program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying test. By the end of this year’s programs, scholarship winners will have received more than $32 million in scholarships.

There are three types of scholarships under the National Merit Scholarship banner: $2,500 Scholarships, awarded on a state representational basis; corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships – about 1,000 per year – and college-sponsored Merit Scholarships, which account for about 4,500 scholarships presented each year.

“We are extremely proud of these students, the latest in a long line of Greenhills seniors to earn this impressive award,” said Head of School Carl Pelofsky. “I am confident we are going to see each of them accomplish great things, both in college and beyond.”