More than 200 accepted to Ivy League schools

As graduation ceremonies continue for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) high schools, the Class of 2015 has a lot to celebrate.

This year’s MCPS graduates have earned more than $335.3 million in college scholarships to date—an amount that is expected to grow in the coming weeks as final data is gathered. In total, 3,740 students have been offered at least one college scholarship so far this year.

“I am extremely proud of the Class of 2015 and the hard work they have put in to prepare themselves for success in the future,” said Larry A. Bowers, interim superintendent of schools. “The large amount of college scholarship money earned by our students is one example of how MCPS gets a strong return on the investment our citizens make in public education.”

The MCPS Class of 2015 has received many prestigious scholarships and awards for outstanding academic performance, community involvement and leadership. Six students have earned good-through-graduation Gates Millennium Scholarships and 13 graduates have been awarded full-tuition scholarships from the Posse Foundation.

In September, it was announced that 133 MCPS seniors were named National Merit semifinalists and, so far, 49 have been awarded scholarships, with one more round of recipients to be announced in July. Among the National Merit winners are seven seniors who received National Achievement Scholarships that honor high-achieving African American students.

In addition, two graduates were among 141 students nationally to be named U.S. Presidential Scholars. Patrick E. Cha, of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, and Emily Yang, of Richard Montgomery High School, were the only public school students from Maryland to receive this honor.

The MCPS Class of 2015 has also received 208 acceptances to Ivy League colleges and universities—the highest number of such acceptances in five years.