Five students at high schools in Ocala are semifinalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program, which awards tens of millions of dollars in scholarships to the most academically talented high school seniors.
On Tuesday, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of more than 16,000 semifinalists in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
“These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring,” reads a statement from the NMSC.
Ocala’s semifinalists include Cody Lu, who attends Forest High School; Gianna Bejarano, who is homeschooled/does school online; and Sanjay Karthik, Angelina Kovalchuk, and Rachel Milbrandt, all of whom attend Vanguard High School.
According to the NMSC, over 1.3 million juniors from 21,000 high schools entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarships Program by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (i.e., the PSAT/NMSQT). That test serves as an initial screen of program entrants.
The nationwide pool of semifinalists represents less than one percent of high school seniors in the United States. The number of semifinalists in each state is also proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
To be considered for an award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 95% of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, according to the NMSC.
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 also 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.
Ocala students have traditionally excelled at the test. Last year, at least nine high school students in the Ocala area won National Merit Scholarships.
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