Forty- three seniors from South Carolina's public high schools are among the more than 2,800 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by colleges and universities across the nation.

Officials of each sponsoring college selected their scholarship winners from among finalists in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. The awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

This year 201 higher education institutions are underwriting scholarship awards through the National Merit program. Sponsoring colleges and universities include 120 private and 81 public institutions located in 44 states and the District of Columbia.

The Governor's School for Science and Mathematics in Hartsville had three winners of college- sponsored scholarships, as did Dreher High School in Richland District One, and Greenville County's Eastside High.

In addition to the public school winners, 11 other awards went to home- schooled students and students enrolled in private schools.

Another group of scholars will be announced in July, bringing the total number of college- sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients in the 2009 competition to over 4,700.

Winners announced thus far are among approximately 8,200 distinguished high school seniors of 2009 who will receive National Merit Scholarships worth $36 million for college undergraduate study.