The two types

of scholarships won by these students are funded by some 50 corporate

organizations, professional associations, and by NMSC. More than 100 additional

Achievement Scholarship awards financed by about 25 colleges and universities

also will be offered in this year's competition. Winners of college-sponsored

awards will be announced in June.

Scholars announced

last week include 450 recipients of National Achievement $2,500 scholarships

and some 150 winners of corporate-sponsored awards. All finalists in the

2002 competition for Achievement Scholarship awards competed for the $2,500

single-payment scholarships which are allocated on a regional representation

basis, in proportion to the black population in each geographic region.

Recipients

of corporate-sponsored awards were chosen from among finalists who meet

criteria set by their grantor organizations, such as children of a sponsor

company's employees, residents of an area served by the sponsor, or finalists

planning to pursue a college major or career the grantor wishes to encourage.

Almost all corporate-sponsored awards are renewable and provide stipend

payments that can range from $500 to $10,000 per college year; a few provide

a single payment between $2,000 and $5,000.

More than 110,000

black students entered the 2002 Achievement Scholarship competition by

requesting consideration when they took the 2000 PSAT/NMSQT as high school

juniors. Last September, approximately 1,500 of the highest scorers were

named semifinalists on a regional representation basis. To be considered

for Achievement Scholarship awards, semifinalists had to fulfill requirements

for finalist standing, which included meeting high academic standards,

being recommended by their high school principals, confirming their qualifying

test performance, and submitting an essay about personal interests, attainments

and goals. All winners of Achievement Scholarship awards are selected

from the group of more than 1,300 able finalists and are those candidates

judged to have the strongest record of accomplishments and greatest potential

for academic success in college.

Completion

of the 2002 Achievement Program will mark 38 annual competitions in which

more than 23,500 scholarships worth about $75 million will have been awarded

to scholastically talented black American students.