3 Plainfield East students named 2021 National Merit finalists

Plainfield East High School seniors Saumya Madhan, Jeffrey Tilkin and Ibrahim Yousuf have been named 2021 National Merit Scholarship finalists.

This is the 66th year of the National Merit Program. Its mission is to recognize and honor students who are “academically talented,” according to the National Merit Program website.

Approximately 15,000 finalists from across the U.S. will compete for 7,600 National Merit Scholarship awards, a total of about $30 million. Awards will be announced next spring, according to a news release from Plainfield Community Consolidated High School District 202.

Established in 1955, National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) was established in 1955 as an independent, not-for-profit organization, according to its website.

Students must meet three criteria to become a National Merit Finalist, according to the news release. These are:

· an outstanding academic record throughout high school

· an endorsement and recommendation by the school principal

· SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier qualifying performance.

For more information, visit nationalmerit.org.