Three Carson City students named National Merit Scholar semifinalists

Anna Glenn, Rylan Kane and Rachel Rombardo of Carson City have all been chosen as National Merit Scholar semifinalists.

They were among the 16,000 semifinalists chosen across the country as announced Wednesday in the 62nd annual National Merit Scholarship program.

The three Carson City high school seniors are eligible for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth $33 million that will be offered in the spring.

Ninety percent of National Scholar semifinalists are expected to be named as National Scholar finalists. Half of National Scholar finalists are expected to be named as National Merit Scholars.

The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. All three Carson students have grade point averages between 4.5 and 5.0 and they are heavily involved in their school, taking Advanced Placement and Honors classes as well as participating in National Honor Society, athletics, drama, choir and several other activities.

“It is exciting to be chosen because it is possibly a lot of money for college,” Kane said.

About 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state.

“It feels pretty good to be chosen,” said Rombardo.

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 high school 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 scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. Finalists will be chosen in February.

Every finalist will compete for 2,500 National Merit $2500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis. About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 230 corporations and business organizations for finalists who meet their specific criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located. In addition, about 190 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,000 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.

National Merit Scholarship winners of 2017 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July.