Seven Ward Melville High School seniors have been named semifinalists in the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program this fall. These academically talented high school seniors are among the approximately 16,000 students that will now continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million, which will be offered next spring.
Over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than 1% 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 be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. The student and school must submit a detailed scholarship application, including information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. Additionally, the student must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and write an essay. From the approximately 16,000 semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level.
Congratulations to the Ward Melville seniors who earned this prestigious honor:
Rebecca Blumenthal
Cynthia Chen
Neil Mehta
Samara Silverman
Elizabeth Star
Nancy Zhong
Julia Zhu