Fayette students named semifinalists in ’24 National Merit Scholarship Program

More than 16,000 students were selected as semifinalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program, and 11 Fayette County students are among the honorees.

Starr’s Mill High led the way with 9 semifinalists: Nash Glover, Rush Maples, Christian Mattingly, Cannon McFall, Katherine Rausch, Alysha Rawji, McAlister Stanford, Ginger Swayne, and Chen Yang.

McIntosh High’s Nathaniel Miller and Whitewater High’s John Keller round out the local semifinalists.

These students have the opportunity to continue in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarship awards worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring.

About 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to become finalists, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship.

To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier qualifying test performance. The semifinalist and a school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes the student’s essay and information about the semifinalist’s participation and leadership in school and community activities.