Number of Merit Scholars who enroll in College has increased

Last September, 173 National Merit Scholarship awardees enrolled at the University. Chicago now has the fifth largest number of National Merit awardees of any college or university in the nation, up from ninth place the previous year and 21st place in 1998.

High school juniors qualify for National Merit Scholarships when they take the version of the PSAT offered in the fall. Of the 15,000 National Merit finalists nationwide, 2,500 received awards from the National Merit Corp. The remaining 12,500 finalists were eligible to win Merit Scholarships sponsored either by other corporations or by the colleges in which they were to enroll.

Of the 173 Merit Scholars who enrolled at Chicago last fall, 43 were funded by the National Merit Corp., the rest by the University. “It’s just one more indication that the University is attracting much stronger students,” said Michael Behnke, Vice President and Dean of College Enrollment.

“The increase in National Merit Scholars, when taken with the improvement in SATs and transcripts, certainly shows a positive image of the incoming class,” said Behnke.