May 17, 2024  3:30pm CT

ETHS Seniors Anna Grigorescu and Aidan Thomson

This year’s National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners include two seniors from Evanston Township High School. Anna Grigorescu and Aidan Thomson are among the Merit Scholar designees who were chosen from more than 15,000 Finalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. 

According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), the National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. NMSC selectors evaluate a variety of information: the Finalist's academic record, information about the school's curricula and grading system, two sets of test scores, the high school official's written recommendation, information about the student's activities and leadership, and the Finalist's own essay.

This year’s competition for National Merit Scholarships began in October 2022 when high school juniors took the preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen for program entrants. In the fall of 2023, the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors, were named Semifinalists on a state-representational basis.

For more information, visit the National Merit Scholarship Corporation website.