Columbia's locally owned weekly newspaper since 1963
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Dreher High School’s National Merit Scholarship finalists are (l-r) Jiale (Caleb) Liu, Beckham O’Neill, Robert Leonardi, and Spencer Bush.
Six Richland One students have been named finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program, which recognizes academically talented high school seniors across the country.
More than 15,000 finalists were selected out of over 16,000 semifinalists. The finalists will compete for 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million. The winners will be announced in the spring.
Richland One’s National Merit Scholarship finalists are Dreher High School students Jiale (Caleb) Liu, Beckham O’Neill, Robert Leonardi, and Spencer Bush; and A.C. Flora High School students William Beasley and Brooks Ransom.
High school juniors 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 1 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.
A.C. Flora High School’s National Merit Scholarship finalists are (l-r) William Beasley and Brooks Ransom.
To qualify as finalists, semifinalists must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes their academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards. They also must have an exemplary high school academic record, be endorsed by a high school official, write an essay and earn an SAT or ACT score that confirms their academic performance.
National Merit Scholarship winners are selected based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in college.
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