3 Fairfield Ludlowe Students Named Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

FAIRFIELD, CT — Three Fairfield Ludlowe High School students have been named National Merit Scholarship Corporation Semifinalists, giving them the opportunity to compete for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships, which combined are worth nearly $28 million.

Spencer Bradley, Natalie Compare and Campbell Treschuk are among more than 16,000 students in the United States to receive semifinalist status; the final awards will be distributed in the spring.

"To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition," the corporate officials said in a statement. "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."

More than 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 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.

Additionally, to become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s:

• Academic record
• Participation in school and community activities
• Demonstrated leadership abilities
• Employment
• Honors and awards received

A Semifinalist also must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, receive an endorsement and recommendation from a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores "that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test."

The three types of scholarships that will be awarded in the spring are:

• 2,500 National Merit® $2500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis
• About 840 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards from approximately 160 corporations and business organizations for Finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located

• About 160 colleges and universities will finance some 3,800 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution