A record total of 134 National Merit Scholars were admitted to Auburn summer and fall 2010, according to National Merit Scholarship Corporation Annual Report.
One of those Scholars is Chelsea Appleget, freshman in civil and materials engineering.
"This way I don't have to worry about money," Appleget said. "I can just focus on school."
Auburn's provisions for a National Merit Scholar include preferred housing and a housing stipend.
"It saves so much money that you don't even really consider living off-campus," Appleget said. "I'm a little bit worried about being a senior and being surrounded by freshmen in the dorm, but it's worth it."
William Riley, also a National Merit Scholar and freshman in biochemistry, said the housing stipend has been a relief for him.
"I'll probably be staying on campus for four years and won't have to pay for it," Riley said. "I don't know of anybody that wouldn't take a $2,500 housing stipend every semester."
Appleget said she didn't even know she was taking the test for National Merit Scholarship until the day of the test.
"My mom had signed me up for it and forgot to tell me," Appleget said. "Once I got to a certain point I knew how important it was, so I started getting nervous about whether I was going to get it or not."
Students must first take the PSAT to become semifinalists in the competition.
Other requirements include good grades in high school, a PSAT score of more than 200, an essay and recommendations from school officials.
"I totally cried," Appleget said on finding out she was a National Merit Scholar. "I was really excited because I knew what it meant."
For some, the National Merit Scholarship is in the family. Sarah Evander, freshman in anthropology and Spanish, has two older brothers who were also National Merit Scholars.
"When I got it, I was really happy," Evander said. "It just opens up so many more possibilities."
Although Evander said she felt confident she would qualify, she said she tried not to get her hopes up.
"It's better to not expect it and not be disappointed than to think you're going to get it, and then not get it," Evander said.
Riley said he wasn't sure he would be able to make the grade because of his SAT score.
"I made barely the minimum," Riley said. "But I was pretty confident with my essays and my recommendations and my grades from high school."
Riley said waiting to find out whether he had qualified wasn't stressful.
"I figured at that point, if I got it, I got it, but if I didn't, there was no reason to be too upset about it," Riley said. "It wasn't something that kept me up at night."
Evander said in her experience, being a National Merit Scholar means you can set higher goals, but it's no guarantee.
"I feel that because I'm a National Merit Scholar, people expect that I'm able to do a lot of things," Evander said. "I'm able to do what I'm able to do, and what I'm not able to do, I just don't worry about."
Evander said the National Merit Scholarship indicates one of two things.
"It really just means that you're either intelligent, or you're a good test-taker," Evander said. "I have friends who are just as smart as me, work just as hard, and they just don't test well because they get stressed out about it."
Appleget said she studies a lot, but still makes time for extracurriculars.
She is a part of the Auburn High Altitude Balloon Team, which launches and tracks balloons that fly to the edge of space.
"It's a lot of time and a lot of work," Appleget said. "It has a lot of benefits and you get to see results."
Appleget isn't the only Scholar with interests outside the classroom.
Riley said he spends most of his free time playing on the lacrosse team.
"It's like the movement of soccer and the physicalness of football and plays like basketball," Riley said.
This is his fifth year playing lacrosse, and he said he hopes to get more playing time next year when this year's goalie graduates.
"If I'm not doing lacrosse or homework or class, I just like to relax a little bit," Riley said.
But making time for hobbies doesn't mean these National Merit Scholars slack off of schoolwork.
"School is important; that is why we're here," Evander said.
Even though the minimum requirement to keep the scholarship is a 3.0 GPA, personal goals may be higher.
"I'm expecting myself to keep a 4.0," Riley said. "I don't like to talk about school and scholarships and stuff like that a lot because, I don't know, I feel like I'm bragging a lot of the time. So I just kind of keep it to myself."
Appleget said she also has high expectations for herself.
"So far it hasn't completely taken over my life," Appleget said, although she is taking 17 hours this semester and plans to take 18 in every future semester. "Maybe next year will be a different story."
Evander said finding out someone is a National Merit Scholar gives her a new respect for that person.
"You just randomly find out that other people are National Merit," Evander said. "There's actually a lot more than you think. It's just really cool because you have a connection with them."
Appleget said she is glad Auburn has enrolled so many National Merit Scholars.
"It's nice that Auburn is getting recognition for that," Appleget said. "That's the most appealing thing because a lot of colleges have cut their scholarships for National Merit."
Evander said the National Merit program confirmed her decision to attend Auburn.
"It really took coming to visit for me to realize how perfect Auburn was for me, and I feel like National Merit just made that possible," Evander said.
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