2 Toms River North Students Named National Merit Semifinalists

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Two Toms River High School North seniors are semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship program for the 2021-22 school year.

Jena D. Bhandari and Ishan Shah each score 1510 on the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, according to program officials. The nationwide pool of National Merit semifinalists is less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

The program gives academically talented high school seniors the opportunity to compete for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million.

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level — and about 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to reach that standing.

About half will win a National Merit Scholarship and earn the Merit Scholar title.

The program was established in 1955 is funded by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation along with 400 business organizations and colleges and universities that aim to honor and encourage the pursuit of academic excellence.

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

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 scores that confirm the student’s performance on the PSAT. Finalists are notified in February and will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis. About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be awarded to finalists who meet those groups' specified criteria, and about 180 colleges and universities are anticipated to finance some 4,000 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who will attend their schools.

National Merit Scholarship winners of 2022 will be announced beginning in April and concluding in July.