The Carson City School District is pleased to announce three of Carson High School (CHS) high-achieving students have been named Semifinalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. CHS Seniors Jora Kurland, Mori Kurland and Dylan Olson have qualified as semifinalists and in February 2024, will be notified of their finalist designation for the scholarship(s).
The students are three of more than 16,000 Semifinalists across the country vying for nearly $28 million in scholarship funding that will be offered next spring. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain a finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship.
More than 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools nationwide entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The pool of semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
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 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.
This prestigious recognition is a testament to the outstanding academic achievements and dedication demonstrated by these students throughout their high school careers.
The National Merit Scholarship Program, administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), recognizes and honors exceptional high school students for their outstanding academic performance. Being named a Semifinalist is a significant accomplishment, as it places these students among the top 1% of high school seniors nationwide.