A total of 34 Florida Atlantic University High School students have been named semifinalists in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Competition. These high school seniors will now have the opportunity to compete for 7,600 National Merit scholarships worth more than $30 million. 

FAU High is No. 1 out of all public and charter schools in the state for national merit semifinalists.

To become a National Merit semifinalist, more than 1.5 million high school juniors took the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). The highest-scoring entrants in each state were named semifinalists and represent less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors. 

“The Class of 2021 represents the largest group of semifinalists to be recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Competition since the inception of FAU High School in 2004,” said Joel Herbst, Ed.D., superintendent, PK-12 Schools and Educational Programs at FAU. “As a school community, we are beyond excited to continue to celebrate the accomplishments of these students. This recognition reinforces their dedication and passion for education.”

FAU High School students to earn this distinction include Molly Allen, Nickolas Arustamyan, Aleksander Beluskov, Robert Blanchette, Jr., Cayla Copeland, Christopher Cox, Paulina DeVito, Lauren Eigles, Gabriella Barrios Escobar, Michael Evrard-Vescio, Kevin Figueroa, Lucy Golish, Sa'id Gonzalez, Casey Hudspeth, Imtisal Imran, Alexander Jensen, Zachariah John, Cassidy Johnson, Katja Karoleski, Maya Khazem, Jaxon Kuipers, Matthew Lopez, Jake Myers, Neo Nguyen, Michael Norberto, Marea Pennell, Hannah Phelps, Talisa Roberts, Angelina Smith, Jaclyn Thi, Cameron Veit, Connor Veit, Devin Willis and James Warszycki.

To become a National Merit finalist, each semifinalist must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes their academic record, extracurricular activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, honors and awards. They also must be endorsed by a high school official, write an essay, and perform well on the SAT. Finalists will be notified in February 2021, and the 2021 National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in the summer of 2021. 

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) is a not-for-profit organization that identifies and honors academically talented U.S. high school students. Since its founding in 1955, NMSC has recognized more than 3.3 million students and provided more than $1.7 billion in scholarships.

-FAU-