Eleven Bishop Gorman students from the class of 2024 have been selected as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. Out of the approximate 15,000 students selected nationally, 2,500 of them will walk away with a $2,500 scholarship. The finalists will be announced on national news from April 2024 to July 2024.

Leone Chan ‘24, Amielia Coons ‘24, Kaitlyn Labay ’24, Isaac Nelsen ‘24, Zain Siddiqui ‘24, Carter Umphress ‘24 , Joseph Clark ‘24, Cooper Cunningham ‘24, Isabella Mooney ‘24, Jacob Norcross ‘24, and Thomas Sleeman ‘24 have all progressed into the semifinalist portion of the program striving to fill in a spot within the 15,000 finalist slots available.

The National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP) is a non-profit organization that strives to provide university scholarships without government assistance. NMSP began in 1955 and has been conducted annually since. Along with its own finances, around 320 business organizations along with 160 colleges help fund thousands of students’ educations, encouraging academic excellence.

Anyone is eligible for the scholarship, but there are certain requirements that are expected to be met. “From my understanding, becoming a finalist is not especially difficult, if you’re already a semifinalist essentially you just need to make sure that your grades fit with that status and that you have a SAT or ACT score that confirms it,” informed Umphress ‘24.

Bishop Gorman college counselor, Mr. Pietranton said, “If students are selected as a National Merit Finalist, it’s one of the most prestigious rewards a student can receive.”