Officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 Million that will be offered next spring.
Over 90% of the semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and more than half of the Finalists will win National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
Over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, represents less than 1% of the U.S. high school seniors.
Katianna Blackwell-Scott, Cactus Shadows Senior, has achieved the Semifinalist level. Katianna has a 4.75 weighted GPA. She is ranked 8th in her class out of 477 students. She scored a perfect 36 on her ACT and a 1470 on her PSAT. Katianna is a varsity/club diver and volunteers at the National Charity League, Mom’s Pantry, Teen Lifeline, and Puppy Love.
