Fraze named National Merit Scholar
Will Fraze has been selected as a National Merit Scholar. Photo submitted.
Mary Beth Sallee
Editor
Hart Co. News-Herald
Will Fraze, age 18 of Munfordville, has been selected as a 2025 National Merit Scholar. He is a high school senior at Fraze HomeLife Academy.
According to a May 7, 2025 announcement from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), the 2,500 Merit Scholar designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.
“National Merit $2,500 scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies,” the announcement stated. “The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors. These Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the Finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®); contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.”
Fraze plans to begin college this fall at the University of Louisville, the JB Speed School of Engineering, with a college-sponsored full tuition National Merit Scholarship and a $2,500 scholarship directly from NMSC. Only 2,500 students receive this direct scholarship nationally each year from the 1.3 million PSAT/NMSQT test takers last fall.
Fraze will be studying mechanical engineering, with plans to work in the aerospace engineering field. He stated that his desire is to help humanity expand from our home planet, Earth, reaching for the stars.
In addition to being a National Merit Scholar, Fraze is also Hart County’s 2024 Kentucky Governor’s Scholar, HAWKS Homeschool Cooperative Student President, a Hart County 4-H American Rocketry Team Leader who will be attending the National Competition in Washington D.C. this month, a Green River Taekwondo advanced martial arts student, a Hart County Civil Wars Day community volunteer, and a Schoolhouse International SAT tutor.
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was founded in 1955 specifically to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of scholarships offered each year are underwritten by approximately 280 independent corporate and college sponsors that share NMSC’s goals of honoring scholastically talented youth and encouraging academic excellence at all levels of education.
