Two Seniors Named National Merit Semifinalists

The two seniors will now advance to compete for Finalist status and some 7,250 National Merit Scholarships that will be offered next spring.

About 95% of the semifinalists are expected to become finalists. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation will notify them of this designation in February. About half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship or a financial award. On a rolling basis, beginning in April and ending in June, scholars are notified if they have been offered an award.

Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the next level of the competition. To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official must submit an application that provides information about their academic record, school and community participation, employment, demonstrated leadership, and awards or honors received. A semifinalist must have a recommendation, write an essay and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student's earlier performance on the qualifying test.

The semifinalist announcement shares more details about the requirements and program.

Since its founding in 1955, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation has recognized more than 3.4 million students and provided approximately 451,000 scholarships worth over $1.8 billion. The honors awarded by NMSC to exceptionally able students are viewed as definitive marks of academic excellence.