The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has announced the names of over 2,900 high school seniors nationwide who have been awarded prestigious college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships. Among them are several outstanding students from the Tampa Bay area.
These scholarships, sponsored by U.S. colleges and universities, provide recipients with annual awards ranging from $500-$2,000 for up to four years of undergraduate study. Finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program were selected by the sponsoring institutions based on their academic achievements, leadership qualities and test scores.
This year, 146 institutions of higher education — including 74 private and 72 public colleges and universities in 42 states and the District of Columbia — are funding the awards through the National Merit Program. An additional group of recipients will be announced on July 14, bringing the total number of college-sponsored scholarship winners in the 2025 competition to more than 3,600.
By the conclusion of the competition, more than 6,930 students across the country will have received National Merit Scholarships valued at nearly $26 million. Earlier this year, NMSC also recognized recipients of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships and the National Merit $2500 Scholarships.
Students became eligible for the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) in 2023. Out of more than 1.3 million entrants, only about 16,000 semifinalists were selected based on their scores, representing less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors.
To become finalists, students had to meet rigorous academic standards, submit a comprehensive application, write an essay and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirmed their earlier performance. Finalists were also required to be endorsed by their high schools and demonstrate excellence in leadership and extracurricular activities.
Local Scholarship Recipients
The following students from Eastern Hillsborough County and surrounding areas have been awarded college-sponsored National Merit Scholarships:
- Samuel B. Bleeze of Lithia (Joe E. Newsome High School).
Career interest: law.
University of Florida. - Jacob C. Judson of Lithia (Jesuit High School).
Career Interest: dentistry.
University of Florida. - Bradley J. Roberts of Lithia (Joe E. Newsome High School).
Career interest: aerospace engineering.
University of Central Florida. - Anirudh Sudharshan Vijayaraman of Lithia (Joe E. Newsome High School).
Career interest: physics.
University of Florida. - David W. Burton of Ruskin (Bell Creek Academy).
Career interest: engineering.
Florida State University. - Gabrielle Marquez of Valrico (Academy of the Holy Names).
Career interest: architecture.
University of Florida. - Sophia V. Pergola of Valrico (Joe E. Newsome High School).
Career interest: statistics.
University of Florida.
For a full list of scholarship recipients and more information about the National Merit Scholarship Program, visit www.nationalmerit.org.
