Senior Sarah Samuel has been selected as one of the 27 Eugene McDermott Scholars, a scholarship program awarding full tuition and added stipends at the University of Texas, Dallas.

McDermott Scholars are given “one of the most selective and generous undergraduate merit awards in the nation,” and this year’s group consists of five high school valedictorians, six Presidential Scholar candidates and 23 National Merit Scholars.

“I am kind of at a loss of words,” Samuel said. “You look at the rest of the applicants and realize that they’re really incredible, amazing people and you get to be a part of the group.”

The scholarship program is open to first year college freshmen and qualifications include a two-part SAT score of higher than 1450 or an ACT score of above 33. Additional considerations look for students in the top five percent of their graduating class.

“The process is pretty rigorous,” Samuel said. “You have to have three teacher recommendations, seven essays, short answers, and a video, just to name a few.”

Candidate finalists have gone through several rounds, and now that McDemott Scholars for the class of 2020 have been officially announced, the 27 students are now getting to know each other and are preparing for the next four years together.

“Now that we know, we are trying to get to know each other, but we haven’t met,” Samuel said. “We’ll take a trip in August and it will all start there.”

With a comprehensive financial program giving students access to UT Dallas’ trainings and resources, McDermott Scholars not only have their full undergraduate tuition waived, but are also open to local and national connections and are allotted monthly spending stipends, textbook stipends, travel expenses, cultural event access, and funds for study abroad programs.

“I really like that they have a lot of networking opportunities, they have connections all over the place,” Samuel said. “A part of their program is just making use of those connections to be able to do something, whether it’s research or study abroad, and do something cool you enjoy.”