The National Merit Scholarship Corp., a new, nonprofit organization set up in Illinois by a group of nationally prominent businessmen and educators, announced the establishment of the largest independent college scholarship program in history. Initial fund: $20.5 million contributed by the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Some $10 million of the fund will be used to finance four-year National Merit Scholarships, which will be awarded ($1,000,000 worth a year) on the basis of annual nationwide searches for bright students who cannot afford college. The nation's approximately 25,000 secondary schools are already being invited to nominate candidates for the...