Roswell Students Compete for Merit Scholarships

High scores on a test taken during their junior year made more than 100 students in the Fulton County School System semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program.

The school system announced that 108 seniors – the highest number in Fulton history – will now continue in the national competition for 8,300 Merit Scholarship awards, a value of approximately $32 million.

• Charles G. Ladd
• Alec G. Mazzuckelli
• Catherine Stephens
• Kenneth Taylor
• Jenny J. Wang

• Sheridan E. Aspinwall
• Roshan C. D’Souza
• Erin M. Flynn
• Sarthak Mohapatra
• Blake R. Pipes

“Much attention is put on what schools do to help lower-performing students, but our district places just as much emphasis on helping high-achieving students get ahead,” said Superintendent Robert Avossa in a news release from the school system. “This announcement is a sign that our kids are increasing in their skills and are nationally competitive.”
The announcement by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. is the first round of competition for students seeking the distinction of being named a National Merit Scholar and receiving the scholarship money associated with it. Finalists will be named in the winter and the scholarship winners will be announced in the spring.

Exceptionally high scores on the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which they took as juniors. As semifinalists, the students now must fulfill several requirements in order to advance to the finalist round:

• They must have a record of high academic performance;
• Be endorsed and recommended by their school leadership;
• Earn SAT scores that confirm their earlier qualifying test performance.
• A detailed scholarship application, which includes the student’s self-descriptive essay and information about his or her participation and leadership in school and community activities, also must be submitted.

Semifinalists for the 2013 National Achievement Scholarship Program, a similar program for academically gifted African-American high school students, will be named later this month.

Scholarships awarded through the programs are underwritten by business organizations and higher education institutions, as well as by the organization’s own funds.

* Some students who live in the Alpharetta-Milton Patch area attend Chattahoochee High, though it is "in" Johns Creek Patch.