EVANSTON, Ill. — The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced May 23 that more than 2,500 students won National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities.
Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the finalists in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution.
These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. This year, 197 higher education institutions are underwriting awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 117 private and 80 public institutions located in 45 states and the District of Columbia.
California recipients include:
• Jessica Iwamoto of Cupertino, a student at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino. Probable career field: engineering. She received the National Merit Harvey Mudd College Scholarship.
Harvey Mudd College is a highly selective college of engineering and science in Claremont. It is a member of a consortium of six colleges, the Claremont Colleges, where students interact in academic, social, and cultural activities. Harvey Mudd has an enrollment of 540 with a faculty/student ratio of 1:8. The college combines a rigorous scientific education with one-third of the coursework required in the humanities and social sciences.
• Julie S. Saigusa of Fremont, a student at Mission San Jose High School in Fremont. Probable career field: linguistics. She received the National Merit University of Southern California Scholarship.
Located in Los Angeles, USC is private, coeducational and nonsectarian. Undergraduate enrollment is nearly 14,000 students. A College of Letters, Arts and Sciences is complemented by 19 professional and graduate schools offering undergraduate and graduate degrees. Graduate enrollment is about 12,000.
For more information on the scholarship program, visit www.nationalmerit.org.