Six Harvard seniors and one recent graduate were among the 40 American students named Marshall Scholars this week.

Nisha S. Agarwal '00, Aaron M. Einbond '00, Michael N. Jacobsohn '00, Bryan W. Leach '00, Anne-Marie Oreskovich '99, Sujit M. Raman '00 and David A. Roddenberry '00 will spend the next two to three years studying at universities throughout Great Britain.

The scholarship was established in 1953 as a gesture of appreciation toward Americans for the assistance that Britain received through the Marshall Plan after World War II.

The College was the clear front-runner in this year's competition for the scholarships, with four more winners than the University of Chicago, which came in second with three scholarships. Columbia and Stanford had two winners each.

Last year four Harvard students were awarded Marshall Scholarships.

The number of Harvard Rhodes Scholars, announced last week, fell slightly from three recipients last year to two this year.

The Marshall and Rhodes Scholarships are generally considered to be the two most competitive awards available to graduating seniors.

Adonica C. Lui, assistant director of fellowships at the Office of Career Services (OCS), said that the yearly fluctuation in the number of winners is not unusual.