From the SCCPSS website:
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®) has announced the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists this year in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Among those academically talented high school seniors is Savannah Arts Academy Senior William Maher. He will have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships that will be offered next spring.
Over 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2023 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.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. The Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semi-finalist’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. 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.
NMSC, a not-for-profit 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 280 business organizations, higher education institutions, and individual donors that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.
Semifinalists will be notified about whether or not they have advanced to the Finalist level in February.
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