Kalispell students achieve National Merit semifinalist status

Kalispell students achieve National Merit semifinalist status

Three Kalispell high school seniors have achieved National Merit semifinalist status.

Semifinalists include Jillian Wynne of Flathead High School and Glacier High School students Avram Bingham and Aaron Chen. Students entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship program by taking the

2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test as juniors.

Semifinalists represent less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors, including the highest-scoring entrants in each state, according to a press release. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

About 15,000 semifinalists will be notified in February if they have advanced as finalists. National Merit scholarship winners will be selected from the group of finalists. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, according to a press release.

To become a finalist, a semifinalist must submit detailed applications to provide information about their academic record, activity participation, leadership abilities, employment and awards received in addition to writing an essay, being recommended by a high school official and earning a high SAT or ACT score.