On September 13, officials from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®) announced the names of more than 16,000 semi-finalists in the 70th Annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Among them were three NDP seniors, including Elinor Adams, Mason Fattah, and Alyse Odinet

These academically talented high school seniors can continue to compete for the 6,870 National Merit Scholarships, worth nearly $26 million, that will be offered next spring.

"All three of these students bring faith, leadership as well as intelligence to our Catholic school community," said NDP Prinicipal Brie Dragonetti. "They are so deserving of this honor and have worked very hard to achieve academic success."

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semi-Finalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the Semi-Finalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.

To be considered for a finalist award, our semi-finalists will have to submit a detailed scholarship application and provide information about their academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.

A Semi-Finalist 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 earlier performance on the qualifying test. From over 16,000 Semi-Finalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February, they will be notified of this designation.

All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference. 

"We are very proud of Elinor, Mason and Alyse," Principal Dragonetti said. "We pray that God will bless them as the move on in the competition." 

 

In addition to our three semifinalists, the National Merit Scholarship Corp also announced on Sept. 19 that four more Saints were among the top 50,000 nationwide earning the honor of National Merit Commended scholars. Our commended scholars are Madeline Himlin, Rachel Kuczaj, Skylar Stafford and Ava Stine.

More than three million students enter the competition each year. 

"The class of 2025 is a very special class fill with highly motivated students," Dragonetti said. "Celebrating moments such as these is why we become teachers and administrators."