North Hills High School senior Cori Boyle was named a National Merit Semifinalist for 2023.
High school juniors enter the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which serves as an initial screen of program entrants.
The highest-scoring entrants in each state become semifinalists and now have the opportunity to compete for approximately 7,500 National Merit scholarships worth around $30 million. (The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.)
To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official must 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 SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
Approximately 95 percent of semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing with about half of those winning a National Merit scholarship, earning the title of "Merit Scholar."
Sixteen thousand high school seniors, less than one percent of all high school seniors in the U.S., were named semifinalists for 2023, the 67th year for the National Merit Scholarship Program.
Congratulations, Cori!