Officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®) announced the names of over 16,000 Semifinalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program, including four semifinalists from Summit's Class of 2023: Ali Burns, Lavina Grzymajlo, William McLane and Mia Rahner. These academically talented seniors now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring.
"It's incredibly hard to achieve the semifinalist rank among all the applicants from across the United States," says Kelly Cronin, Upper School director. "We are very proud of Ali, Lavina, William and Mia for their outstanding contributions to the Summit community and their dedication to academic excellence."
The nationwide pool of Semifinalists representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. To become a Finalist, the seniors must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about their 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® or ACT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. In February, scholarship finalists will be notified by NMSC.