Several Ashburn Students Receive $2,500 National Merit Scholarships

Ashburn VA

11 May, 2022

11:38 AM

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ASHBURN, VA — The second round of 2022 National Merit Scholarship winners was announced on Wednesday, and nine students from the Ashburn area are in the mix. About 2,500 students from across the country were chosen to receive National Merit Scholarships worth $2,500. Sixty-four students from Virginia, including nine from the Ashburn area, received $2,500 National Merit Scholarships: Adrian Cheung from Broad Run High School in Ashburn plans to use the scholarship to study computer science in college.Neha Krishna from Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn plans to use the scholarship to study law in college.Manasvi Mothe from Briar Woods High School in Ashburn plans to use the scholarship to study finance in college.Mitchell Palmer from Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn plans to use the scholarship to study engineering in college.Akash Pamal, an Ashburn resident who attends the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, plans to use the scholarship to study computer science in college.Hriday Unadkat from Independence High School in Ashburn plans to use the scholarship to study aerospace engineering in college.Larina Yu from Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn plans to use the scholarship to study computer science.Raahi Chada, a Dulles resident who attends Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn, plans to use the scholarship to study computer science in college.Dheemanth Munipalli, a Sterling resident who attends Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn, plans to use the scholarship to study economics in college. The $2,500 scholarships are the second round of National Merit Scholarships to be announced for 2022. The winners of the corporate-sponsored scholarships were announced on April 27. Two other rounds of awards are being given in June and July. This will bring the total of college-sponsored awards to about 4,000. To be entered for the National Merit Scholarship competition, over 1.5 million students were entered as juniors taking the PSAT in 2020. In fall 2021, around 16,000 semifinalists were named based on each state's proportion of graduating seniors. Semifinalists were the top scoring entrants in their states and represent less than 1 percent of seniors in the U.S. To be considered for finalist status, semifinalists had to submit a detailed scholarship application with an essay and details on extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions as well as demonstrate an outstanding academic record and have an endorsement from a high school official. Around 16,000 finalists met requirements for finalists status and were eligible to be chosen for corporate-sponsored, National Merit Scholarship-sponsored and college-sponsored awards. In all, about 7,500 students will win National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million in 2022.