Plainfield High School-Central Campus May graduate Caleb McMillin, is one of the more than 2,900 students nationwide to win a National Merit college-sponsored award as part of the 2025 National Merit Scholarship program.
The prestigious National Merit Scholarship program honors academically talented high school seniors and lets them compete for National Merit Scholarship awards in several categories.
This year, 146 colleges and universities are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards. These college-sponsored awards range from $500 to $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.
McMillin’s scholarship is from Michigan Technological University, where he plans to study mechanical and aerospace engineering.
The 2025 graduate earned National Merit Finalist status by building an outstanding academic record throughout high school and qualifying SAT scores, among other criteria.
High school juniors nationwide entered the 2025 National Merit Program by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
The pool of semifinalists comprises less than one percent of all United States high school seniors and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
In all, more than 6,390 students nationwide won National Merit awards and scholarships in various categories worth about $26 million.
Earlier this spring, the program announced winners of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards and National Merit $2,500 scholarships.