Six accomplished Irvington High School seniors – Chloe Banino, Eadin Block, Joshua Chang, Aliya Huprikar, Katherine LeBuhn and Samantha Levin – have been named semifinalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.
They are among the top 16,000 high school students nationwide who were awarded the distinction by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
“Our academically talented seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million that will be offered next spring,” Principal Juliet Gevargis-Mizimakoski said.
Irvington’s students entered the academic competition as juniors by taking the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of entrants. They represent the top 1% of students from across the country who earned the highest scores in each state. The number of semifinalists named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors.
To become a finalist, they must submit a detailed scholarship application, provide information about their outstanding academic record, participation in school and community activities, employment, honors and awards received, as well as demonstrate leadership abilities. Students must also write an essay, be endorsed by a high school official and earn scores that confirm their earlier performance on the qualifying test. Out of the 16,000 semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the next round, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship.
According to its website, the National Merit Scholarship program honors students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Finalists will be announced in February, while scholarship winners will be announced in the spring.
