Door County, Kewaunee County students are named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists – Green Bay Press-Gazette
Two Door County high school students and one from Kewaunee County were named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship program.
Among the more than 16,000 seniors in high schools from across the U.S. who remain in the running are Grant Pieschek of Southern Door High School, Keira Wesley of Sturgeon Bay High School and Rylen Hinckley of Luxemburg-Casco High School.
The 71st annual competition will award 6,930 scholarships worth a total of nearly $26 million in spring 2026. The program offers three types of scholarships: A $2,500 National Merit Scholarship that will be awarded to 2,500 students on a state-representational basis; Merit Scholarships sponsored by about 150 corporations and business organizations to about 830 students who who meet the business’ criteria; and Merit Scholarships sponsored by 150 colleges and universities to about 3,600 students who will attend the sponsoring school.
According to a news release from the program, more than 1.3 million students from about 20,000 high schools entered the competition during their junior years by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, an initial screen of program entrants. Semifinalists were chosen from the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
Semifinalists and an official from their high schools will next submit a detailed scholarship application that provides information about the student’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards. Semifinalists also must write an essay and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm their earlier performance on the qualifying test.
From the more than 16,000 semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level, with finalists notified in February. About half of the finalists will win the scholarships and the title of Merit Scholar. In its 70 previous years, about 389,000 high school students have earned scholarships from the program.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@gannett.com.
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