The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 55th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Among these students are three NW seniors: David Catt, Lianna Dang and Andrew Hursh. A total of twenty-seven Shawnee Mission seniors received the honor.

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,200 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $36 million, that will be offered next spring.

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship.,

The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

To become a Finalist, a Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record

throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. The Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes the student’s essay and information about the Semifinalist’s participation and leadership in school and community activities.

For more information about the National Merit Semifinalists.

http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsc_10_semifinalists.pdf