Berlin High School Senior Named National Merit Semifinalist

BERLIN, CT — Berlin High School senior Julia Oakes has been named a semifinalist in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program, according to a statement from the school.

Oakes will now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships that will be offered next spring. A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and write an essay.

To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application providing information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.

Over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants, according to the statement.

The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than one percent of US high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.