About 800 black high school seniors across the U.S. have been named the winners of more than $2 million in National Achievement Scholarships—including four from Washtenaw County.
The National Achievement Scholarship Program is a privately financed scholarship competition through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation that honors academically strong African-American students.
More than 160,000 students entered this year's competition. Entry is based off of students' 2012 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
The 1,600 semifinalists that were named in September had to write an essay, earn SAT scores that were consistent with their PSAT scores, have consistently high academic performance and gain the endorsement of an official at their high school.
Of the 800 winners, 700 are recipients of National Achievement $2,500 Scholarships: single-payment scholarships given out based on the proportion of the black population in a geographic area.
Four Washtenaw County students have been named the winners of the National Achievement $2,500 Scholarships:
- Aviva Gordon, Huron High School
- Brigitte Leal Demelo, Chelsea High School
- Makaila Desano-Smith, Greenhills School
- Stephanie C. Uduji, Greenhills School
The four winners were among eight local semifinalists named in September for the scholarships.