Officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) have announced the names of approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 65th annual National Merit Scholarhip Program. These high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 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.
Mundelein High School senior, Justin O’Connor, has qualified as a semifinalist and will move forward to compete for a finalist position.
To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official 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 or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
“We’re proud of Justin’s high school accomplishments and support him as he works to qualify as a finalist,” said Dr. Anthony Kroll, MHS principal
National Merit Scholarship winners of 2020 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join more than 345,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.