Plainfield East HS graduate wins National Merit Scholarship

Plainfield East High School graduate Jeffrey Tilkin (Class of 2021) has won a 2021 National Merit College-Sponsored Scholarship.

Tilkin is one of more than 4,100 students nationwide to win a scholarship financed by colleges and universities. He plans to study computer science at Florida State University.

Officials at each sponsoring college or university chose their winners from among this year's National Merit Scholarship finalists who will attend their institutions.

Winners will receive between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution funding the scholarship.

This year, 160 colleges and universities are sponsoring National Merit Scholarships. Sponsors include 85 private and 75 public institutions in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

In all, more than 7,500 students nationwide were named 2021 National Merit Scholars and have received scholarships worth nearly $30 million through several National Merit programs.

More than 1.5 million high school juniors in over 21,000 high schools nationwide entered the 2020-21 National Merit Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

The 2020-2021 school year is the 66th year of the prestigious program, which honors academically talented high school seniors.