Two members of the Savannah Arts Academy Class of 2021 have been named National Merit Semifinalists. Congratulations to both Aidan Hayes and Megan Stark for this achievement! Both students will have the opportunity to continue in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship competition. There are approximately 16,000 semi-finalists nationwide which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. Over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). The list of semi-finalists includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state's percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
Aidan Hayes 
Megan Stark
These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. 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, and write an essay.
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, a privately funded, not-for-profit organization based in Evanston, Illinois. The program began in 1955.
