2021 College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship Winners

Nine GCS seniors have earned National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the Finalists in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.

Job A. Tan, Eastside High
Probable career field: Engineering
National Merit Clemson University Scholarship

Nitya S. Harikumar, J. L. Mann High Academy
Probable career field: Engineering
National Merit Clemson University Scholarship

James B. Hoskins, J. L. Mann High Academy
Probable career field: Engineering
National Merit Clemson University Scholarship

Quinn A. Berzins, Riverside High
Probable career field: Medicine
National Merit University of South Carolina Scholarship

Manasvini Garigipati, Riverside High
Probable career field: Computer Science
National Merit University of Texas at Dallas Scholarship

Zachary C. Simpson, Riverside High
Probable career field: Chemistry
National Merit University of South Carolina Scholarship

Bryce K. Taylor, Riverside High
Probable career field: Computer Science
National Merit University of Alabama Scholarship

Harper P. Uhlemann, Riverside High
Probable career field: Biomedical Engineering
National Merit Clemson University Scholarship

Jackson D. Brewer, Wade Hampton High
Probable career field: Finance
National Merit Case Western Reserve University Scholarship

This year, 160 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 85 private and 75 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners are a part of the distinguished group of about 7,500 high school seniors who will receive National Merit Scholarships for college undergraduate study worth over $30 million. Earlier this spring, NMSC announced winners of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and National Merit $2,500 Scholarships.

2021 National Merit Scholarship Competition

Over 1.5 million juniors in approximately 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, approximately 17,000 Semifinalists were named 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 compete for Merit Scholarship awards, Semifinalists first had to advance to the Finalist level of the competition by fulfilling additional requirements. Each Semifinalist was asked to submit 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 the qualifying test performance.