Mississippi State University is ranked 44th in the country among colleges and universities for the number of freshman National Merit Scholars who are attending the school, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
With 43 freshman scholars, Mississippi State tied with the University of Georgia for the 44th spot and ranked ahead of such institutions as Johns Hopkins, the California Institute of Technology, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Mississippi State also led all Mississippi institutions in attracting the top scholars, who are generally among the top 1 percent of the nation's high school graduates. Thirty-two of the Merit Scholars at Mississippi State this year were awarded university scholarships.