Trinity Prep seniors Safia Centner and Selena Zhao have been offered National Merit Scholarships, a college-sponsored scholarship and the other a corporate-sponsored scholarship. Safia has been offered the National Merit University of Central Florida Scholarship and Selena has won the National Siemens Foundation Scholarship.
The National Merit Corporation offers three types of scholarships: college-sponsored scholarships, corporate-sponsored scholarships and National Merit $2,500 Scholarships.
Approximately 200 colleges and universities underwrite more than 4,800 National Merit Scholarships annually. Only National Merit Finalists who plan to attend a college or university that sponsors Merit Scholarship Awards can be considered for one. Winners are chosen by officials of the sponsor college or university.
Corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarships have specific criteria, and about 240 companies and businesses finance National Merit Scholarships for qualified Finalists. Most of the approximately 1,000 corporate-sponsored awards are for children of a sponsor organization's employee, but some are specified for residents in communities where a company plant or corporate office is located. Additionally, a few may be provided to Finalists who have college major or career interests that a sponsor wishes to encourage.
In order to be considered for any of these scholarships, students must achieve National Merit Finalist status by first qualifying as National Merit Semifinalists, by fulfilling several additional requirements as part of a detailed scholarship application, and by presenting a record of very high academic performance.