Addison Trail senior named as finalist in 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program

Addison Trail senior Jonathan Loi has been named as a finalist in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program.

According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), Loi now has the opportunity to earn a National Merit Scholarship this spring. To become a finalist, Loi had to submit a detailed application that provided information about his academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors and awards he has received.

According to the NMSC, about 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. About 15,000 students are named as finalists.

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered this spring, and recipients will be announced between April and July.

• Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit® $2,500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis.
• About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by about 230 corporations and business organizations for finalists who meet their specified criteria.
• About 190 colleges and universities are expected to finance about 4,000 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.

Loi also is a National AP Scholar and an AP Scholar with Distinction. He is highly involved with extracurricular activities at Addison Trail as well and has been a member of the Boys Cross-Country Team, Math Team, Science Olympiad Team (which encouraged him to pursue a career as a scientist), Psychology Club and Key Club, among other activities.

Loi’s top choice for college is Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also is applying to Georgia Institute of Technology and California Institute of Technology. Loi plans to study biology because of its complexity and how much there still is to discover in that subject area. Loi would like to study genetics and how to manipulate genes to make improvements in the health field and possibly the environment. He also wants to work toward finding a cure for cancer and is considering a career in oncology.