The National Merit Scholarship Council recently announced its list of just over 16,000 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists for 2023. We are proud to share that the following students made the list!
Olivia Mead, Fort Walton Beach High School
Nicholas Ford, Niceville High School
To qualify for this national program, students must take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in the fall of their Junior year. Those chosen as Semifinalists represent less than one percent of high school seniors in the United States and are the highest-scoring entrants. To become a Finalist and qualify for one of 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth almost $28 million, the student must submit a detailed scholarship application, 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 students earlier performance on the qualifying test.
"Becoming a National Merit Semifinalist is an incredible honor," said Superintendent Chambers. "I am proud of Olivia and Nicholas and wish them luck in the next round of this rigorous process. They are both great candidates and will represent the Okaloosa County School District well!"