Nine Chatham Seniors Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

CHATHAM, NJ — The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of over 16,000 semifinalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program, including nine students in Chatham.

Fewer than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors are chosen as semifinalists in the prestigious competition, according to officials.

The students are competing for 7,250 scholarships totaling nearly $28 million, which will be awarded in multiple rounds over the spring and summer of next year.

To advance to the finalist level of the competition, these semifinalists must meet a number of requirements. Approximately 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to advance to finalist status, with approximately half of them going on to win a National Merit Scholarship.

Nine Chatham High School seniors were named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Program.

Here is a list of Chatham's semifinalists:

• Isabel Chan
• Flora Jeng
• Andrew Li
• James Liao
• Kareena Parikh
• Aditya Sinha
• Ronan Valli
• Peter Wang
• Jocelyn Xu

The semifinalists and their schools must now submit a detailed scholarship application that includes their academic records, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors and awards received.

The student must also obtain SAT or ACT scores that confirm their previous performance on the qualifying test.

The scholarships are underwritten by National Merit's own funds and by approximately 340 business organizations, colleges and universities.

Semifinalists entered the competition as juniors by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screening for entrants. The number of semifinalists in each state is proportional to the state's share of the national total of graduating seniors.

“Congratulations to our students who have been recognized by the NMSP as semifinalists. Less than 1% of the nation's high school graduating seniors qualify as semifinalists. This recognition is a testament to their hard work and commitment to academic success,” Principal Doug Walker said.

National Merit Scholarship winners of 2023 will be announced beginning in April and concluding in July.