The National Merit Scholarship Corporation recently announced that 18 Unionville High School students have been named Semifinalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

The 18 Unionville students who qualified as National Merit Semifinalists are April Chou, Blake Ellsworth, David Hendrix, Bridget Hoban, Grace Jiang, Steffanie Jones, Emily Ran, Marguerite Richardson, Janhavi Rotkar, Sreyas Sai, Adhavan Satish, Luke Stokes, Arjun Suryawanshi, Michael Ta, Cherry Wu, Sreevarshini Yedidao, Lilly Zhang, and Esther Zhou.

"We are immensely proud to announce that 18 of our exceptional students have been named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists,”  said Dr. Amy Jenkins, the Unionville High School principal. “This remarkable achievement is a testament to their unwavering dedication to academic excellence, their insatiable thirst for knowledge, and the incredible  support of our dedicated educators. These students are shining examples of the bright future that lies ahead for our community. We congratulate them on this well-deserved recognition and look forward to witnessing their continued success as they embark on their educational journeys.”

Approximately 16,000 Semifinalists were named in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring. 

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships in which students are entered by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT)—one that serves as an initial screen of program entrants each year. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. This includes providing information about their academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.