Semifinalists named in the 2015 National Merit Scholarship Program

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation, Evanston, Illinois, announced to local Historic City News reporters that five local high school students in St Augustine and St Johns County schools have been selected to be included with approximately 16,000 other semifinalists in the 60th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships, worth about $33 million, that will be offered next spring.

About 1.4 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered this year’s program by taking the 2013 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 one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in each state competing for scholarships is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

Local Semifinalists selected are:

ALLEN D. NEASE H. S.
Andrilenas, Justin C.
Canaday, Brandon R.
Goodman, Eric J.
Hinkle, Megan L.
Koros, Jessica E.
Sanders, Lucas B.
Schwartz, Daniel E.
Short, Alexander K.
Street, Turner F.
Wadhams, Erin E.
Wisniewski, Lauren N.

BARTRAM TRAIL H. S.
Battista, Christopher N.

CREEKSIDE H. S.
Jamerson, Ashlee D.
McLevey, Connor E.

PEDRO MENENDEZ H. S.
Abell, Jenna

PONTE VEDRA H. S.
Bugbey, Elizabeth W.
Greene, Brett M.
Norenberg, Lily A.
Samant, Rina A.
Samant, Sonia A.
Seethaler, Michael C.
Stamatogiannakis, Emmanuel N.

ST. JOSEPH ACADEMY
McKinney, Audrey M.

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 more than half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and his or her high school must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

National Merit Scholarships to be awarded this spring:

• Every Finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis.

• About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 240 corporations and business organizations for Finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located.

• In addition, about 200 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,100 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.

The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The program does not measure the quality or effectiveness of education within a school, system, or state.

National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. More than 308,000 distinguished young people have earned the Merit Scholar title.

Scholarships are underwritten by National Merit Scholarship Corporation with its own funds and by approximately 440 business organizations and higher education institutions that share National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.