NORTH ANDOVER — Ace a test and win $120,000.

That's what Merrimack College is offering high school seniors next month at its science and technology competition — the chance at a full four-year scholarship to the North Andover school.

"We wanted to do something special, something different," said Josephine Modica-Napolitano, dean of the college's science and engineering school. "It's a way to attract students to Merrimack, to get our name out there, show them how great our programs are."

The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Scholarship Competition kicks off Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. Students will take a three-hour long test.

There are three components. A multiple choice section will test general knowledge in all sciences. An analytical question section includes word problems and mathematical equations, looking at graphs and data.

The last section tests critical thinking.

"It will be an open-ended question with many possible answers," Napolitano said. "We're looking to see which student has the most creative solution."

A winner will be chosen that day.

Three runners-up will win $15,000-a-year scholarships.

This isn't the college's first attempt at attracting students to its science and engineering programs. Over the last few years, Merrimack has held a catapult contest.

Students build their own catapults and compete by trying to toss an egg closest to a target — a frying pan sitting 48 feet away. The winner receives $15,000 a year to study civil engineering at the college.

"We wanted to do something a little bigger and include all the sciences," Napolitano said.

To register for the STEM contest, students should go to www.merrimack.edu/stemquest for rules and a schedule. Registration is free. The student who wins must be accepted into Merrimack and study one of the eight disciplines in the science and engineering program.

Students must register by Nov. 2.

Crystal Bozek may be contacted at cbozek@gloucestertimes.com.