When it comes to attracting National Merit Scholarship finalists, Iowa State is at the head of the class for the state.

According to 1998 National Merit Rankings, ISU recruited 111 finalists for the school year beginning fall 1998, which was more than all other Iowa colleges combined. The University of Iowa had 46 finalists enroll last semester. No finalists enrolled at the University of Northern Iowa.

This year, ISU ranked sixth in the nation among public universities in terms of National Merit finalists, said Tom Becker, coordinator of high-ability student recruitment program.

He estimated that more than 400 National Merit finalists currently are attending ISU, more than any other regent university in the state.

Becker attributed ISU’s aggressive recruiting practices as a main reason for the large sum of National Merit finalists here.

“We’ve been very successful attracting those students at Iowa State,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with the quality of our facilities.”

Every year, ISU may award up to 150 scholarships to National Merit finalists. One hundred of the scholarships cover tuition and room and board. The other 50 scholarships are for $3,000 per semester. All scholarships are renewable for up to eight semesters.

“Students have to maintain a 3.0 GPA and be a full-time student,” Becker said. “Students have until their third semester to get above a 3.0 [cumulative GPA].”

Becker also said the National Merit Scholarship Corporation could take away a student’s scholarship for aberrant behavior, but he has never been aware of a time when the measure had to be used.

Sam Umbach, sophomore in pre-metallurgical engineering, is grateful for his National Merit Scholarship. Umbach, who is from Virginia, said ISU’s scholarship program was a major factor in his decision to attend ISU.

“When I was looking at schools, ISU was not one I even applied to,” Umbach said. “Tom Becker gave me a call and told me a bunch of good stuff — the usual propaganda they give out to everybody. I came up to visit and really liked the place. I got my application in and got lined up with the scholarship.”

None of the other schools Umbach applied to offered similar programs.

However, Becker said many schools offer similar benefits for finalists.

“Each institution will offer something a little different,” he said. “Texas A&M and [the University of] Oklahoma give out tuition, room and board. Institutions like Harvard don’t need to do that. They’ll get their Merit scholars.”

Umbach said being a National Merit finalist hasn’t caused him any additional pressure.

“There is so much less pressure because I don’t have to worry about my finances,” he said.