HHS senior earns 2025 National Merit Scholarship

HTSD congratulates Carolyn Clutter, HHS Class of 2025, on winning a 2025 National Merit Scholarship!

Carolyn is one of over 2,900 winners of scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. Each sponsor college selected its scholarship recipients from among the Finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution.

Carolyn earned the National Merit University of South Carolina Scholarship and plans to attend the university to study Biology and Economics.

The college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners announced on June 4, 2025, are part of a distinguished group of more than 6,930 high school seniors who will receive National Merit Scholarships for undergraduate study, totaling nearly $26 million. Earlier this spring, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the winners of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and National Merit $2,500 Scholarships.

Over 1.3 million juniors in approximately 21,000 high schools entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screening of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists — representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors — includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

From over 16,000 Semifinalists, more than 15,000 advanced to the Finalist level. All National Merit Scholarship winners were selected from this group of Finalists. Merit Scholar designees are chosen based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.