East Islip Senior Named National Merit Semifinalist

EAST ISLIP, NY — An East Islip student has been named a semifinalist in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Bella Fantauzzi, a senior at East Islip High School, was announced as one of the 16,000 semifinalists nationwide on Monday.

She was recognized for her exceptional academic performance on the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test during the last school year, the district said.

Bella recalled learning about this prestigious title from her guidance counselor, Christopher Boehler.
“It was exciting,” she said. “The funniest part was that it came right after Mr. Boehler was saying that scores aren’t what defines you. Standardized test scores aren’t the end all and be all, but I’m really happy about it, and it’s great because it gives me scholarship opportunities."

According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the pool of semifinalists represents less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. Semifinalists go on to compete for 7,250 scholarships, totaling more than $28 million.

About 95% of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship.