South Fayette High School seniors Rishika Somireddy, Preetam Jukalkar, and Varun Shiralkar were named Semifinalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Competition (NMSC®). They are being recognized for their outstanding performance on the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) and represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.
Yesterday, the NMSC® announced the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. According to a press release from NMSC®, “These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a 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.”
“We are very proud to have such academically gifted students at South Fayette,” said High School Assistant Principal Robert Butts. “Rishika, Preetam, and Varun represent our Lion Learners as curious and critical thinkers, collaborative contributors, compelling communicators, and compassionate and productive leaders.”
Scholarship finalists are determined through evaluation of academic record as well as school recommendations, student essay, extracurricular activities, and SAT®/ACT® scores. Finalists will be notified in February 2024 and scholarship winners announced in the spring.