Maplewood's high school has more National Merit Semifinalists than most NJ public schools

MAPLEWOOD AND SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The National Merit Scholarship Program — which awards college scholarships to students based on factors including test scores and recommendations — has announced this year's semifinalists in the program. This year, Columbia High School has a higher number of qualifying students than many public high schools in New Jersey.

This year, Columbia High School, which serves both Maplewood and South Orange, had 10 semifinalists.

Among nearby North Jersey public high schools, Summit High School had five, Chatham High School had three, Westfield High had two, Scotch Plains High had two, and Madison High had two.

Millburn High School had a whopping 32 semifinalists. But most other New Jersey high schools with more than 10 were magnet or private schools.

Students first become eligible based on their PSAT scores in high school and ultimately submit an essay for consideration for a coveted $2,500 college scholarship.

The process begins when students take their PSAT as a sophomore or junior in high school (in this case, they likely took it in 2020, the Program says). Approximately 34,000 students are then chosen as Commended scholars based on those scores.

In their senior year, 16,000 are notified that they are semifinalists, as students were this week.

At the end of this winter 2022, approximately 95 percent of the semifinalists will be notified by mail that they have become finalists.

And starting in April 2022, approximately 7,500 students will be notified that they have been chosen for a Merit Scholarship. Most will receive a $2,500 scholarship for college, but some may win an award from a company or from a particular college.

There will be three types of Merit Scholarships offered in spring 2022: 2,500 National Merit $2,500 scholarships; 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships from 220 corporations and business organizations (some for employees' children or kids in their geographical area), and 4,000 scholarships sponsored by 180 colleges for students who attend their institution.

According to the NMSC, the program bases the awards on information about the students including:

• Academic record
• Participation in school and community activities
• Employment
• Honors
• Leadership abilities
• Recommendation from a school official
• Essay they write

This Year's Columbia High School National Merit Semifinalists Are:

• Cervi, Ella Rose J.
• Cunningham, Aidan P.
• Gill, Dylan K.
• Glassman, Aaron K.
• Mannion, Sydney C.
• Park, Jadyn
• Plaza, Courtney
• Reeves, Calliope
• Strupp, Cole J.
• Zubieta, Imaan K.

The finalists for 2022 will be announced in a series of four press releases this coming April through July, the program says.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is a non-profit organization operating without government assistance, established in 1955 to award national scholarships. The program uses its own funds and contributions from approximately 400 businesses and higher education institutions.

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