GRC senior Silas Coogle has been recognized as a Semifinalist in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. The semifinalist pool represents less than 1 percent of high school seniors in the United States.

To earn the coveted honor, students must score among the highest on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).

Silas now has the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring.

More than 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 PSAT, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

From over 16,000 Semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February they will be notified of this designation. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.