TOWSON, MD—Towson High School senior Jacob Fey and Perry Hall High School senior Tiffany T. Shum are among the more than 2,600 distinguished high school seniors from across the nation who have earned college-sponsored National Merit® Scholarships. The scholarship recipients were chosen from a pool of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Fey, who lives in Towson and plans a career in finance, received a scholarship sponsored by the University of Maryland. Shum, a Glen Arm resident, received a scholarship from the University of South Florida. Colleges sponsoring National Merit scholarships offer selected finalists between $500 and $2,000 annually.

This is the third announcement of National Merit Scholars in 2022 by the NMSC, which named recipients of National Merit corporate-sponsored scholarships on Apr. 27 and will name additional winners of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards on July 11. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 7,500 finalists will have won National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $28 million.

2022 National Merit Scholarship Competition

High school juniors across the nation entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). Last fall, 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 1 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 and be endorsed and recommended by a high school official. From the semifinalist group, more than 15,000 met finalist requirements.