Congratulations to Stoughton High School senior Briana Skerpan for being named a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist. Skerpan is one of approximately 16,000 seniors from across the United States who have been named semifinalists for this prestigious scholarship. More than 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to reach the finalist stage, and about half of the finalists will win one of the $31 million in National Merit Scholarships that will be awarded in the spring.
From the National Merit Scholarship Corporation:
“Over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2018 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 a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
“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] 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.
For more information, visit the National Merit Scholarship Corporation website.
