Five Briarcliff students were named Semifinalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Competition: Daniel De Castro, Gil Halevi, Joshua Jacobs, Matthew Li, and Michael Tu (left to right).
Principal Debora French said, “Once again this year, Briarcliff has reason to be proud. This recognition of Gil, Joshua, Daniel, Matthew, and Michael for exemplary performance is wonderful. It is a pleasure and an honor for our entire school community to have our students highlighted on a national level every year. This year’s unprecedented five students ranked nationally once again speaks to both the quality of education and the caliber of student that exists in Briarcliff.”
These outstanding students will now compete for a share of 7,600 scholarships worth more than $31 million. Winners will be announced nationally between April and July next year.
High school juniors in approximately 21,000 high schools in the United States entered the academic competition when they took the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test last October.The highest-scoring students in each state represent the pool of semifinalists who, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, represent less than 1% of United States high school seniors.
