3 New Lenox High School Seniors Selected National Merit Semifinalists

NEW LENOX, IL — Three New Lenox High School students have been selected as semifinalists for the National Merit Scholarship program, which recognizes high school seniors who are in the running for one of more than 7,200 scholarships that will be awarded in the fall.

Semifinalists were announced on Wednesday and include 1,600 students from around the country. Locally, two New Lenox students from Lincoln-Way Central and one from Lincoln-Way West were among the semifinalists, announced by the Evanston-based company.

Lincoln-Way Central’s Kyle A. Bozzetti and Michael D. McNulty along with Lincoln-Way West senior Samantha F. Mate will advance on in the competition for a total of $28 million in scholarships, which will be announced in the spring.

To be considered for the scholarships, students must fulfill several requirements to advance on to be finalists for one of the scholarships. About 95 percent of semifinalists will receive finalist standing, the company said in a news release on Wednesday, and about half of the finalists will be awarded scholarships.

High school juniors entered the National Merit Scholarship program by taking a preliminary exam, which served as the initial screening process for the scholarships. The semifinalists represent less than 1 percent of all high school seniors in the country and the number of semifinalists in each state is proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

To move on to the finalist round, students must have a demonstrated history of academic success, participation in school and community activities, must demonstrate leadership abilities as well as be endorsed by a member of their respective school’s faculty.

Three types of scholarships will be awarded in the spring. Students will compete for one of 2,500 $2,500 scholarships along with about 950 corporate-sponsored scholarships as well as one of 3,800 scholarships that will be awarded by about 160 colleges and universities across the country.

The scholarships will be announced in rounds between April and July of 2023.