Decorah HS student is awarded a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship

(decorahnews.com file photo)

Decorah High School student Autumn DeLong has been awarded a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship.

Autumn is the daughter of Drew and Chamoni DeLong of Decorah.  She intends to study International Human Rights in college.

Her scholarship comes from National Merit Scholarship Corporation's own funds.  She is one of 2,500 Merit Scholars named Wednesday by the organization.  Those 2,500 students were chosen from more than 15,000 finalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program.

National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state's percentage of the nation's graduating high school seniors.

The scholarship recipients are selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who review the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.