The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has awarded nine Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) seniors 2022 National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. Gwinnett’s College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship winners are:

Brookwood High:

Lilian T. Nguyen

Probable career field: Healthcare

National Merit Emory University Scholarship

Gwinnett School of Mathematics Science and Technology:

Roger Lin

Probable career field: Actuarial Science

National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship

Jashua T. Liu

Probable career field: Biochemistry

National Merit Vanderbilt University Scholarship

Roland A. Saavedra

Probable career field: Computer Science

National Merit Boston University Scholarship

Mill Creek High:

Tony Li

Probable career field: Computer Science

National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship

 Ava M. Petersen:

Probable career field: Computer Science

National Merit Brigham Young University

North Gwinnett High:

Caleb Kim

Probable career field: Medicine

National Merit Vanderbilt University Scholarship

Puroom James Kim

Probable career field: Medicine

National Merit University of Georgia Scholarship

Peachtree Ridge High:

Christina Kim

Probable career field: Medicine

National Merit Vanderbilt University Scholarship

The National Merit Scholars are part of a group of distinguished students nationwide judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Officials of each sponsor college selected their winners from among finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program who will attend their institution. The scholarships provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.  

This year, 155 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 82 private and 73 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia. College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners are a part of the distinguished group of about 7,200 high school seniors who will receive National Merit Scholarships for college undergraduate study worth nearly $28 million.

This year’s competition for the National Merit Scholarships began when high school juniors took the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. In September 2021, more than 16,000 Semifinalists were named on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors. Semifinalists were the highest scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of the nation’s seniors.

To become a Finalist, each Semifinalist had to complete a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay, describing leadership positions and contributions in school and community activities, showing an outstanding academic record, and being endorsed and recommended by a high school official. Semifinalists also had to take the SAT® or ACT® and earn scores that confirmed their performance on the initial qualifying test. From the Semifinalist group, over 15,000 attained Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists were chosen to receive National Merit Scholarships.