Wichita State became a National Merit Scholarship sponsor this year. To be a sponsor, a university must attract at least three finalists per year for the four most recent competition years.
Finalists are offered scholarships to universities across the country. Fifteen scholars were enrolled at WSU during the 2012-2013 academic year. “Being named a National Merit Scholar is a feat that less than 1 percent of students earn nationwide,” says Bobby Gandu ’02/06, WSU director of undergraduate admissions. “We’re thankful for the diligent outreach efforts of our administrators, faculty and staff, coupled with the support of the many National Merit Scholars who are already WSU students.”
This fall, seven incoming National Merit finalists made WSU their academic home: Tyler Ames (Pocatello, Idaho, High School), Bridget Carroll (homeschool), Hannah Gabel (Olathe, Kan., South High School), Deborah Denny (Lyons, Kan., High School), David Jantz (Newton, Kan., High School), Claire Mullen (Trinity Academy, Wichita), and Garrett Viets (Shawnee Mission, Kan., West High School).
Carroll, a homeschool student from Stillwater, Okla., recalls her search for a college and the impact WSU made on her. “Wichita State University has magnetic statistics,” she says. “The number of teachers with advanced degrees and awards in their fields is staggering. However, these great facts are not the reason I decided to attend WSU – it was the personal attention of the faculty and staff.”
The National Merit Scholarship Program, which started in 1955, aims to not only honor exemplary United States high school students, but also to provide them with outstanding resources for college and career opportunities.
Sheelu Surender ’03, WSU associate director of scholarships, notes, “We are excited to have such a strong class of academically talented students select to attend Wichita State.”
