National Merit Scholar rankings place KU in top 10 for third year in a row

LAWRENCE -- For the third consecutive year, the University of Kansas is among the top 10 public universities in enrolling new National Merit scholars, just-released rankings show.

KU enrolled 105 National Merit scholars this year, more than all other public universities in Kansas and Missouri combined. KU ranks 10th in the nation among all public universities. 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. "Highly motivated students, regardless of whether they are National Merit scholars, are finding that KU provides a first-rate educational experience in top-ranked academic programs taught by talented faculty."

The National Merit scholarship is widely regarded as the most prestigious national award bestowed upon 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 the two largest states, producing 1,756 and 1,058 National Merit finalists respectively.

Click here for the names of scholars, their school, their hometown and their parents' names and addresses.

Kansas counties represented this year are: Crawford, Douglas, Finney, Johnson, Leavenworth, Marshall, McPherson, Miami, Ness, Reno, Saline, Sedgwick and Shawnee.