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Three Fairfax County Public Schools students have earned 2025 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards, joining more than 800 National Merit finalists selected for an additional round of scholarships.
The recipients, representing three high schools, are:
- Jack Koo of Centreville High School received a National Merit Vanderbilt University Scholarship. His probable career field is law.
- Ethan Gertz of Fairfax High School received a National Merit University of Alabama Scholarship. His probable career field is physics.
- Akshara Subburam of Chantilly High School received a National Merit Virginia Commonwealth University Scholarship. Her probable career field is medicine.
The students join 2,900 college-sponsored scholarship recipients announced in June.
Winners were assessed on their academic records, essays, extracurricular activities, awards, leadership roles and SAT performance. Each also received a recommendation and endorsement from a high school official.
The scholarships provide between $500 and $2,000 per year for as many as four years of undergraduate study at the institution funding the award.
This final group raises the total number of 2025 National Merit Scholars to more than 7,100. Their scholarships are worth nearly $26 million combined.
The 2025 awards also include 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships open to all finalists and approximately 830 corporate-sponsored scholarships for finalists who met criteria established by the sponsoring organizations.