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Connor Orr from Plainfield East High School, along with Omer Mescioglu and Serena Sabzaali from Plainfield North High School, have been recognized as 2025 National Merit Scholars. They are among the 2,500 students nationwide awarded a $2,500 scholarship.
These scholars were selected from over 15,000 finalists. Dr. Glenn Wood, Superintendent of Schools, stated, “These exceptional students exemplify the pursuit of academic excellence that we foster throughout District 202.” He added that they take immense pride in their accomplishments and believe this honor will open new opportunities for them.
Orr, Mescioglu, and Sabzaali were named finalists in March. The National Merit Scholarship Program is now in its 70th year and honors academically talented high school seniors.
To achieve finalist status, students must maintain an outstanding academic record during high school, receive endorsement and recommendation from their principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm their earlier qualifying performance. A detailed scholarship application is also required.
Approximately 1.3 million high school juniors across about 21,000 schools took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in 2023 to enter the program. Less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors become semifinalists based on top scores in each state.
In addition to the scholarships provided by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, around 130 corporations will offer approximately 770 corporate-sponsored scholarships to eligible finalists. Additionally, about 150 colleges and universities are expected to fund roughly 3,600 college-sponsored awards for finalists attending their institutions.
The winners of the 2025 Merit Scholarships join over 382,000 distinguished students who have previously earned the title of National Merit Scholar.
