Three accomplished seniors from Irvington High School – Tane Kim, Luke Mitchell and Oliver Sack – have been named semifinalists in the highly competitive 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.
The students are among the top 16,000 high school students nationwide – out of more than 1.3 million students who entered the competition – to continue in the competition that awards 6,870 scholarships. Out of all semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the next round, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship.
The students entered the academic competition as juniors by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of entrants. They represent the top 1% of students in the United States who earned the highest scores in each state. According to the corporation, the National Merit Scholarship program honors students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
To become a finalist, the semifinalists must fulfill several requirements, including submitting a detailed scholarship application, providing information about their outstanding academic record, participation in school and community activities, employment, honors and awards received, as well as demonstrating leadership abilities. They must also write an essay, be endorsed by a high school official and earn scores that confirm their earlier performance on the qualifying test.
Scholarship winners will be announced beginning in April 2025.
