Massachusetts Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

MASSACHUSETTS — Hundreds of Massachusetts students were among the more than 16,000 national semifinalists named on Wednesday as part of the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

These high school seniors will advance to the next round of competition to share in more than 7,000 scholarships collectively worth nearly $28 million to be offered in the spring.

Students qualifying as semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level. About 95 percent of semifinals will fulfill those requirements and become finalists with about half of the finalists winning a National Merit Scholarship.

Students from high schools across the state had students earned the semifinalist status with the leading representatives Lexington with 38, Phillips Academy with 21, Acton-Boxboro with 17, Boston Latin with 11, Belmont with 10, Noble & Greenough School with 10, and Lincoln-Sudbury with 10.

The semifinalist pool represents less than one percent of all high school juniors across the country who took the 2022 Preliminary SAT (PSAT) tests. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state's percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

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

A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT that are in line with the PSAT scores from the previous year.

National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2024 in three categories — 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, 840 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships from 160 corporations and business organizations nationwide and 3,800 college- and university-specific National Merit Scholarships.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)