Seven students at Jamesville-DeWitt High School have been honored by the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Competition, two have been named semifinalists and five have been named commended students.
Daniel Blumenthal and Henry Middleton were named semifinalists in the competition by officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporations (NMSC). They are now part of 16,000 scholastically talented high school seniors who have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 Merit Scholarships awards, worth $33 million, that will be offered next spring.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements and advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to become finalists, and approximately half of the finalists will be selected as merit scholarship winners.
The five JD commended students in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Competition are: Ishan Gajra, Melissa Y. Gao, Michaela C. Leblond, Peter R. Miedaner, and Jamie K. Rieger. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to these scholastically talented seniors.
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2016 competition for National Merit Scholarships, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2017 competition by taking the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
