Dedham's Noble And Greenough Senior Earns National Merit Scholarship

DEDHAM, MA - A West Roxbury senior at Noble and Greenough School in Dedham won a $2,500 scholarship from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the organization announced Wednesday.

Daniel Wang of West Roxbury, a senior at Noble and Greenough in Dedham, won the presigious award. He intends to pursue a career in academia after finishing his studies.

The 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.

National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have
the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.

These scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high
school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the
finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied
and grades earned; scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test
(PSAT/NMSQT®); contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay
written by the finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.

This is the second announcement of winners in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship
Program. On April 27, about 1,000 recipients of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards
were named.

On June 1 and July 11, some 4,000 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners will be announced. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 7,500 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $28 million.

NMSC finances most of these single-payment National Merit $2,500 scholarships.
Corporations and company foundations that sponsor awards through NMSC also help underwrite
these scholarships with grants they provide in lieu of paying administrative fees. Scholars may
use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.

This year’s National Merit Scholarship Program began in October 2020 when high school
juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall,
the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than one percent of the nation’s
high school seniors, were named semifinalists on a state-representational basis. More than 16,000 semifinalists had an opportunity to continue in the competition.

From the semifinalist group, over 15,000 students met the very high academic standards
and other requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. By the conclusion of
the 2022 program, about 7,500 finalists will have earned the “Merit Scholar” title and received a
total of nearly $28 million in college scholarships.

NMSC, a not-for-profit corporation that operates without government assistance, was
founded in 1955 specifically to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority
of scholarships offered each year are underwritten by approximately 400 independent corporate
and college sponsors that share NMSC’s goals of honoring scholastically talented youth and
encouraging academic excellence at all levels of education.