Thirteen Manhasset High School students were named semifinalists in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Competition this month, making them among the top 1 percent of seniors statewide.
The semifinalists were among the top scorers in New York on the preliminary SAT test and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. This, in turn, puts them among just over 1,100 New York students and about 16,000 nationwide in line to compete for scholarships.
“We are extremely proud of these students and look forward to cheering them on toward advancement in the competition,” said Manhasset Secondary School Principal Dean Schlanger. “Each has worked very hard to get to this point and should be applauded for this outstanding achievement.”
The number of students selected this year is higher than last year, when 11 Manhasset High School students were named semifinalists.
This year’s semifinalists are Alexander Glick, Emily Hahn, Eamon Hanley, Andrew Li, Ashley Luo, Kathryn Miller, Benjamine Mo, Fayfay Ning, Winston Park, Benedict Reilly, Kendrick Tak, Aleah Tishler and Sophia Vincoff.
Paul D. Schreiber High School in Port Washington had nine semifinalists.
They are Jolie Bercow, Emily Doherty, Becky Han, Olivia Hansen, Jacob Keller, Benjamin Rosenberg, Edward Samowitz, Ryan Siegel and Leah Taylor.
In total 83 students from area public and private schools are National Merit semifinalists.
These semifinalists include five from Chaminade High School, one from Mineola High School, six from the Wheatley School, two from New Hyde Park Memorial High School, 11 from Herricks, and one from Floral Park Memorial High School.
Taken together, they represent more than half of Nassau County’s 157 National Merit semifinalists.
Of the 16,000 semifinalists, around 15,000 are expected to advance to finalist status. Selection committees then begin choosing National Merit scholarship winners, with the first scholarships to be formally awarded in March.
There are three types of scholarships: corporate-sponsored Merit scholarships, National Merit $2,500 scholarships and college-sponsored Merit scholarships.
