Upper Dublin HS Senior Wins National Merit Scholarship

UPPER DUBLIN, PA — An Upper Dublin High School student has been selected as a winner of the prestigious National Merit Scholarship, placing him among the elite in the nation.

Maxwell Orland, of Ambler, has received the National Merit Carleton College Scholarship.

Carleton is a small private school south of Minneapolis in Northfield, Minnesota, that was founded in 1866. It is "near enough to the city to avoid rural isolation, yet far enough away to enjoy the advantages of small town life in the country," according to a writeup on the National Merit announcement.

About 2,900 winners from around the country were selected from a massive national pool, which started off with the entire national Pre-SAT pool and was whittled down to 16,000 semi-finalists. A second group of around 3,000 2024 winners will be announced in July.

In order to be considered as finalists, semifinalists completed a scholarship application with an essay and information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to demonstrate an outstanding academic record, earn SAT or ACT scores confirming their PSAT performance, and get a recommendation from a high school official.

Scholarship winners were the finalists determined to "have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies," according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.