<p>My view: they should have a singular class of “National Merit winners” with one clear designation–that is, the 2500 chosen by the National Merit Scholar Corporation. Simultaneously, all national merit finalists (including the winners) may get a scholarship from a company or from a sponsoring college. In terms of the money, this second money award may take the place of the original award, but the designation would stay. </p>
<p>Given the emphasis of the ivy league for “building a class” using non-academic criteria (leaving plenty of academic stars out), it’s nice to have a nation-wide distinction that is based on scholarly criteria. </p>
<p>Now back to your regularly scheduled programming…</p>