Legacy High School Senior Brady Filla was in Mr. Howard's science class when Principal Geoffrey Sherman entered the room, followed by his parents, counselors, teachers, and coaches. It was an unexpected and delightful surprise when they announced he was a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist. After receiving applause, hugs, handshakes, and posing for pictures, it was time to cut the cake. The cake received much attention from everyone in the room, and there were enough slices for all to enjoy.
Over 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) as an initial screening of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing 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 nation's graduating seniors.
To be considered for the National Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
National Merit Scholarship winners of 2024 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join nearly 375,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.
