37 DCPS’ National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists Announced
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - 37 Duval County Public Schools’ (DCPS) students were among more than 16,000 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists announced today by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Program.
Semifinalists are now eligible to advance to the finalist competition to vie for 8,400 scholarships worth more than $36 million. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will be selected as Merit Scholarship winners.
DCPS' Semifinalists:
Douglas Anderson School of the Arts
Duncan U. Fletcher High School
Paxon School For Advanced Studies
- Sai P. Polineni
- Robert B. Ramirez
- Taylor E. Samuels
- Elliot M. Vainer
Stanton College Preparatory School
- Kenneth D. Bergquist
- Joseph C. Bolling
- Ariel I. Burnett
- Sophia E. Cain
- Jungwon Choi
- Christopher J. Cruise
- Sarah F. Davis
- Connor S. Dobson
- Shelby T. Ellis
- David J. Emami
- Andrew F. Galler
- Mark B. Hodges
- Hugh N. Humphreys
- Aditya V. Karhade
- Sarah E. King
- Cameron T. McCall
- Sajan Patel
- Christopher M. Pisarchuk
- Marton Pono
- Rick S. Schaffer
- Caitlyn F. Schmitt
- Amanda C. So
- Shreyas Srinivasan
- Alyssa M. Stubbs
- Swati Sureka
- Ashwini Tilak
- Kendall Tobin
- Anastasia E. Towe
- Daniel R. Vanalstyne
- Vignesh Vudatha
- William G. Warden
Steps in the Competition
About 1.5 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools entered the 2011 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2009 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. 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, a Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. The Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes the student’s essay and information about the Semifinalist’s participation and leadership in school and community activities.
Approximately 15,000 Semifinalists are expected to advance to the Finalist level and it is from this group that all National Merit Scholarship winners will be chosen. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
National Merit Scholarships
Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2011. Every Finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state representational basis. About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 250 corporations and business organizations. In addition, about 200 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,900 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.
National Merit Scholarship winners of 2011 will be announced beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join more than 275,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.
Duval County Public Schools operates 172 schools and serves approximately 123,000 students. The school district is committed to providing high quality educational opportunities that will inspire all students to acquire and use the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in a global economy and culturally diverse world.
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