Madison Fitzpatrick is part of Northwestern’s record-breaking number of National Merit Scholars in this year’s freshman class. The McCormick freshman said she chose NU because of its academic reputation.
“The scholarship made it more attractive to apply, but this was my first choice anyway,” she said. “I knew everyone here was serious about their work. You don’t pay $45,000 a year to come here and goof off.”
Fitzpatrick is one of 249 National Merit Scholars in the class of 2011, the highest number of Merit Scholars enrolled in NU’s history. This record-breaking number has topped previous records of 198 scholars last year and 174 the year before.
“Our goal is to provide some of the very best academic programs in the country,” Vice President for University Relations Al Cubbage said. “If we provide outstanding programs, we will get outstanding students.”
The National Merit Scholarship program is an annual academic competition that students qualify for by taking the PSAT during their junior year of high school and ranking highly in their state. National Merit recipients receive one of three awards: a scholarship sponsored by the university, by a corporation or by the merit program itself.
According to a university press release, of the 249 finalists, 186 were sponsored by the university. Typically, NU students receive $2,000 annually.
Michael Mills, associate provost for university enrollment, attributes this year’s record number of Merit Scholars to the university’s reputation and recruitment of prospective students. About 12.5 percent of this year’s freshman class is a National Merit Scholar. Four years ago, this number was at 6 percent.
“We had momentum,” he said. “Numbers have been growing the last two or three years, and that doesn’t go unnoticed among students, their parents and guidance counselors.”
NU is currently third nationally in drawing these students. Only Harvard University and the University of Texas at Austin surpassed NU’s number of Merit Scholars with 285 and 283 respectively.
Mills also said university recruitment may have helped with the increased number of scholars. According to Mills, when his office receives the list of Merit Scholars who have specified NU as one of their top choices, the provost sends out a letter encouraging them to attend.
However, Cubbage said the merit scholarship does not typically influence a student’s decision to attend NU. Rather, a student comes to NU for its academic reputation, he said
“I just don’t think that (the scholarship) is enough money that it would make a difference,” Cubbage said.
Some NU students said they felt the National Merit program had its shortcomings.
Veronica Roth is a National Merit Scholar, but because she transferred to NU this year from Carleton College, she is not eligible to receive a scholarship from the university. The Weinberg sophomore said she thinks the National Merit Scholarship program’s policy on transfers students should be reworked.
“If you don’t go to your first-choice school or if you decide to leave the school, you should be able to get the award you earned,” she said.
The increased number of Merit Scholars is just another record the class of 2011 has broken. In fall, NU reported the freshmen class had a mean SAT score of 1422, the highest in the school’s history, and a record 85 percent of students were ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class.
Merit scholar Hana Suckstorff thinks the growing number of Merit Scholars will change NU’s reputation, especially among high school seniors.
“I think it makes NU a lot more attractive to students who are looking for an intellectually rigorous place,” the Weinberg freshman said.
