Iowa State’s continuing goal to become the best reached a milestone this year.

Iowa State ranked seventh in the nation among public universities for enrollment of National Merit Scholars. This was a 4 percent increase in National Merit Scholar enrollment from the fall semester, with 116 scholars in the freshman class.

Tom Becker, coordinator for the National Merit and National Achievement Program, said while Iowa State has always tried to attract National Merit Scholars, an increased emphasis on the program started during 1996 after an initiative by ISU President Martin Jischke as part of his Strategic Plan.

“We can see how we’re doing towards our progression to become the best,” Becker said of the number of Merit Scholars the school enrolls.

This is partly due to the large competition among colleges in the United States for National Merit Scholars. University of Central Florida, Arizona State and University of Southern California are just a few of the other public universities vying for National Merit Scholars.

There are several ways Iowa State tries to attract Merit Scholars to the university, the most significant being the National Merit Scholarship. This scholarship provides free tuition and room and board for up to eight semesters of enrollment, on the condition that students maintain a 3.0 GPA.

In 1996, Iowa State offered these full scholarships to all National Merit Scholars and enrolled 154. But starting in 1997, the recruiting committee decided to offer only 100 full scholarships to National Merit Scholars.

Fund raising for this multi-million dollar program is coordinated by the ISU Foundation with the goal of reaching $10 million for the scholarship.

In addition to the National Merit Scholarship, Iowa State also gives potential scholars personalized tours of the campus when they come to visit. The tour features individualized meeting times with faculty in the students’ interest areas, in addition to the standard components of a campus visit.

Will Luxion, first-year sophomore in computer engineering, said Iowa State’s National Merit program was very attractive.

“It’s a really good blend between the money and a good school,” he said.

Heather Mitchell, first-year sophomore in biochemistry, agreed that the benefits at Iowa State outweighed offers she had from other schools.

“The quality of the programs were the first priority for me,” she said. “But the scholarship money didn’t hurt, either.”

Becker said once a National Merit Scholar is enrolled at Iowa State, he or she is immediately included in the Honors Program, which has benefits such as early scheduling and the Freshman Honors Program. He said the Student Alumni Association also has some involvement with National Merit Scholars, but there are no other extended programs as the students go through school.

“I don’t know if there are any additional steps needed,” he said. “They usually do very well.”

Heather Swanson, a second-year junior Merit Scholar in psychology, agreed. “It’s not something I find really important,” she said.

Becker said the university starts trying to recruit National Merit students fairly early during high school, adding that he has already started contacting scholars for the freshman class of 2001.

“We want to continue to grow the program,” Becker said.