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 National
Merit Scholar rankings place KU in top 10 for third year in
a row
KU enrolled 105 new National Merit scholars this year --
more than all other public universities in Kansas and Missouri
combined. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation pegged
KU as 10th in the nation among all public universities for
number of National Merits enrolled. It is the fourth time
in the past five years that KU has ranked among the top 10
public universities.
"Our continued success at attracting National Merit
scholars speaks volumes of the quality of education KU has
to offer," said Chancellor Robert Hemenway.
"When you recruit National Merit Scholars, you communicate
your institution's values, and you're saying that merit ought
to count for something," Chancellor Robert Hemenway recently
told the Chronicle of Higher Education in a story about the
competition for National Merit Scholars.
The National Merit scholarship is widely regarded as the
most prestigious national award bestowed on graduating high
school seniors. Of the 1.2 million students who compete for
the award, fewer than 10,000 receive National Merit scholarships.
Recipients are chosen based on their academic abilities and
records and extracurricular activities. Among public universities,
141 schools enrolled 3,460 new National Merit scholars in
2001-02.
Other schools in the top 10 are the University of Texas with
233 new National Merit scholars; the University of California,
Berkeley, 231; Texas A&M University, 171; University of
Florida, 158; University of North Carolina, 145; Arizona State
University, 115; Iowa State University, 110; and Ohio State
University and University of Oklahoma, each with 109.
Other Midwestern public and Big 12 universities enrolled
the following number of scholars: University of Nebraska,
39; University of Iowa, 35; University of Missouri, Columbia,
19; and Kansas State University, 13.
KU's record of success is all the more noteworthy considering
the size of the candidate pool from Kansas. The state of Kansas
ranked 31st in the nation in producing National Merit finalists,
with 166 in 2001. California and Texas were at the top, producing
1,756 and 1,058 National Merit finalists respectively.
Information about KU's scholars is available at http://www.ur.ku.edu/News/02N/FebNews/Feb8/merits.html.
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