Four Students At Skokie Schools Named National Merit Semifinalists

SKOKIE, IL — Four students at Skokie high schools were named semifinalists for 2024 National Merit Scholarships.

They include three from Niles West High School and one from Ida Crown Jewish Academy, marking the second year in a row no student from Niles North has made the cut, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

The 12 local scholars were among the more than 16,000 high school students who qualified from across the country based on the results of Preliminary SAT tests that they took last year, with the number of semifinalist slots in a state determined by its share of the nation's sum of graduating seniors.

This year's semifinalists from high schools in Niles Township are:

• Aiden J. Novick, Ida Crown Jewish Academy
• Jonathan Lou, Niles West High School
• Asma A. Patel, Niles West High School
• Will C. Rousseau, Niles West High School

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation is an Evanston-based not-for-profit that distributes three types of scholarships every spring, totaling nearly $28 million for more than 7,100 students,

About 840 students will receive corporate-sponsored awards, which are mostly reserved for the children of people who work for one of about 160 different businesses.

Another 2,500 students will receive $2,500 cash each, to be evenly distributed among different states.

And the largest group of winners is made of up finalists picked to receive 3,800 scholarships of between $500 and $2,000 a year for up to four year of undergraduate study. About 160 different colleges and universities finance the awards.

In order for semifinalists to qualify as a finalist and become eligible for scholarships, they must submit a detailed application, including an essay and recommendation from a high school official.

Last year, three students from Skokie high schools — two from Ida Crown and one from Niles West — were named semifinalists, up from one the prior year but still fewer than the 18 semifinalists selected among the class of 2021.