17 Shaker High Students Named National Merit Semifinalists

SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH — Seventeen Shaker Heights High School students have been named semifinalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship competition.

To qualify as semifinalists, students have to score among the top 1 percent of PSAT test takers. More than 3 million students take the test each year, while only 16,000 are named semifinalists.

Shaker Heights High's National Merit Semifinalists are: Nichele Abeyesundere, Kjell Aspelin, Grace Bourdrez, Jonathan Brinkley, Mia Compton-Engle, Jacob Feinleib, Caroline Lamb, Avery Maytin, Tyler Nordstrom, Benjamin Rakow, Ivan Sadowsky, Luca Sakiewicz, Benjamin Schattinger, Somiya Schirokauer, Katerina Steiber, Julia Strasburg, and Eva Xiao.

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They will have an opportunity to become finalists and then compete for a pool of scholarships collectively worth $30 million.

To become National Merit Scholarship finalists, high school officials and the semifinalist must submit a detailed scholarship application including information on their academic record, participation in school and community activities, information on how they demonstrate leadership, employment history, and any honors they've received. A high school official must endorse the student, while the both writes an essay about themselves while scoring high on their SAT or ACT.

Of the 16,000 semifinalists, approximately 15,000 will become finalists. Finalists will be announced in February.

Scholarship winners will be selected from the pool of finalists.