Congratulations to Blind Brook High School seniors Fiona Chen,

Matthew Laterza, Austin Lu, Joaquin Otero and Derek Wang for being named 2024 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists.

This week the National Merit Scholarship Corporation named more than 16,000 semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program, all of whom have an opportunity to be awarded one of 7,140 scholarships worth $28 million.

“I want to offer my heartfelt congratulations to these outstanding seniors on being named semifinalists,” said BBHS Principal Dr. Jennifer Chirles. “They have diligently worked hard throughout their high school years, and I could not be prouder of their recognition. I wish them all the best as they continue to move through the process in the hopes of becoming National Merit Scholarship finalists.”

According to a release from the NMSP, “Over 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2024 National Merit

Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SATINational Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.”

The release also outlined the next steps for semifinalists, who must have “a high school official submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the semifinalist'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 SATS or ACT® scores that confirm the student's earlier performance on the qualifying test.”

National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in four releases beginning in April 2024 and running through July.