The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®) has selected six Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) students as 2025 National Merit® Scholarship Program Semifinalists. Congratulations to our semifinalists:
- Isabella Carter, Charles J. Colgan Sr. High School
- Daniel Choe, Battlefield High School
- Benjamin Eikenberry, Forest Park High School
- Alan Peng, Battlefield High School
- Alexandra Whalen, Osbourn Park High School
- James Younts, Patriot High School
Additionally, Ashvin Kala, a former student at Benton Middle School who now attends Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, was also named a semifinalist.
More than 16,000 high school seniors from across the nation have been selected as semifinalists for the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These students now have the chance to continue in the competition for thousands of National Merit Scholarships, which are collectively worth nearly $26 million and will be awarded in spring 2025.
To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official 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® or ACT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). 2025 National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced beginning in spring 2025.
For more information about the National Merit® Scholarship Program, please visit their website.