Final National Merit Scholarship Program Recipients Announced

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) just announced the final group of more than 1,200 additional winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by colleges and universities. Zachary Burkett from Dunbar High School was honored with the National Merit University of Central Florida Scholarship. He plans to study computer science at UCF.

These Merit Scholar designees join more than 2,600 other college-sponsored award recipients who were announced in June. Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the Finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program who will attend their institution. College-sponsored awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.

In June, Krisha Parikh from Fort Myers High School was awarded a University of Florida Scholarship and Jacob Silver from Cypress Lake High School awarded a University of Central Florida scholarship. Krisha plans to study medicine while Jacob plans to study astronautics.

This year, 155 colleges and universities sponsored 3,800 Merit Scholarship awards. Sponsor colleges include 82 private and 73 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

In May, Morgan Kaplan from Fort Myers High School and David Liu from Dunbar High School were awarded National Merit $2,500 Scholarships. Winners of this award are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Morgan is considering a career in surgical medicine and will attend the University of Florida in the fall. David is planning to study aerospace engineering at the US Military Academy West Point.

This final group of winners brings the number of 2022 National Merit Scholars to more than 7,200. These distinguished high school graduates will receive scholarships for undergraduate study worth a total of nearly $28 million.

The National Merit Program will announce the 2023 scholarship semifinalists this fall. Students who could earn scholarships in 2024 also take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test this fall.