Furman Ranks Among Top Schools in Number of Merit Scholars
February 4, 2008
GREENVILLE, S.C. – February 4, 2008 – Once again, Furman University ranks among the nation’s top colleges for the number of National Merit Scholars enrolled in its freshman class.
According to a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, 27 members of Furman’s 2007-08 freshman class are National Merit Scholars. That ranked Furman 76th nationally among the 98 colleges and universities who enrolled at least 20 freshman Merit Scholars in 2007.
When calculating the Merit Scholars as a percentage of the undergraduate enrollment, Furman ranks 32nd overall, 29th among private institutions and 15th among liberal arts colleges. The university’s total enrollment is 2,600.
In all, 8,262 freshman Merit Scholars were enrolled in the fall of 2007 — 4,945 at 226 private colleges and 3,317 at 136 public institutions. The rankings were determined by The Chronicle from an alphabetical list appearing in the 2006-7 annual report of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
Other colleges enrolling at least 20 National Merit Scholars in this year’s freshman class were Clemson University (50), University of South Carolina (36), UCLA (27), Washington and Lee (25), Williams College (22) and Swarthmore College (20).
The distinction of Merit Scholar is given to the nation’s top high school students by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Established in 1955, the National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarship.
For more information, contact Furman’s office of Planning and Institutional Research at (864) 294-2024.
