King School Students Named National Merit Semifinalists

The National Merit Scholarship Program announced on Wednesday, Sept. 13, that four of King School’s students were named semifinalists for its 69th annual competition.

Catie Harvey of Stamford, Max Krueger of Old Greenwich, Spencer Neckritz of Westport, and Jack Zipper of Armonk moved closer to winning the prestigious scholarships. The students follow in the footsteps of their peer Ben Persily, who became the first King student to win the scholarship this year.

Over 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 as an initial screen of program entrants. According to Wednesday's announcement, being named a semifinalist puts these students in a pool of less than 1% of high school seniors.

"I am so proud of each of our four semi-finalists,” said Director of College Counseling Jessica Landis. “Based upon their outstanding academic and co-curricular achievements, they will be strong contenders to move onto the finalist stage."

Next, the students will need to meet several requirements, including submitting a detailed application, writing an essay, and maintaining an outstanding academic record and leadership and service in the community.

The nonprofit said only 7,140 scholarships will be given next spring.

King School is an independent day school in Stamford, CT, educating students in PreK through Grade 12. Students at King engage in an immersive and innovative curriculum that is anchored in an inquiry-based pedagogy that nurtures curiosity, intellectual growth, and character development.