Officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 61st annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Five Schreiber High School students were named on the list: Seth E. Barshay, William F. Day, Tiger Y. Gao, Maxwell Silverstein and Isabella Soldano.
One home-schooled student from Port Washington, Daniel Wallick, was also named.
These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,400 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 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.
“The entire school community is extremely proud of our 2016 National Merit semifinalists, who are among the many fine students that contribute to the tradition of excellence at Schreiber High School,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Mooney. “This is a testament to their hard work and the ongoing support of their parents, teachers and school staff. We wish them well throughout the remainder of the competition.”
The semifinalists qualified by scoring among the highest in the state on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in 2014, including the top 1 percent nationally.
About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
NMSC, a nonprofit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 440 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.
Using numbers of semifinalists to compare high schools, educational systems or states will result in erroneous conclusions. 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. For more information about the National Merit Scholarship Corporation competition, please visit NMSC’s website at www.nationalmerit.org.