On April 22, National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) released the names of the first group of winners in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Approximately 830 distinguished high school seniors have won corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarship awards financed by about 124 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations. Also included in this category are awards supported by several foundations and individual donors who have established endowments with NMSC.

Here are the winners from the greater Katy area:

· Anna Zamastsyanina, Jordan High School, Fulshear, winner of the Occidental Petroleum Scholarship. Probable career field: biochemical engineering.

· Grace Wu, James E. Taylor High Schook, Katy, winner of the Chevron Scholarship. Probable career field: law.

· Brian Y. Chen, Seven Lakes High School, Katy, winner of the Aspen Technology Inc. Scholarship. Probable career field: electrical engineering.

· Jaden T. Cherian, Jordan High School, Fulshear, winner of the Apache Corporation Scholarship. Probable career field: pharmacy.

· Eesha K. Kodavatikanti, Obra D. Tompkins High School, Katy, winner of the Insperity Scholarship. Probable career field: medicine.

· David S. Lu, Seven Lakes High School, Katy, winner of the Chevron Scholarship. Probable career field: computer science.

· Krish P. Shah, Seven Lakes High School. Katy, winner of the Chevron Scholarship. Probable career field: ecology.

Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the Finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for Finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.

Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends that range from $1,000 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $5,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.

Funding for these National Merit Scholarships is provided by corporate organizations that represent nearly all sectors of American industry. Sponsors from the business community have underwritten awards offered in all 70 competitions, expending or committing nearly $882 million to support the intellectual development of the nation’s scholastically talented youth.

2025 National Merit Scholarship Competition

High school juniors entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. In September 2024, more than 16,000 Semifinalists were designated on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors. Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of the nation’s seniors.

To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, Semifinalists had to fulfill requirements to advance to Finalist standing. Each Semifinalist was asked to complete a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirmed their qualifying test performance. From the Semifinalist group, over 15,000 met Finalist requirements.

By the conclusion of the 2025 competition, more than 6,930 Finalists will have been selected to receive National Merit Scholarships totaling nearly $26 million. Winners are the Finalist candidates judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of National Merit Scholarships offered each year are underwritten by some 280 independent corporate and college sponsors that support NMSC’s efforts to honor the nation’s scholastically talented youth and encourage academic excellence at all levels of education.