These students have an opportunity to continue to compete for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth over $30 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. An estimated 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to reach Finalist status, of which about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.

In addition, three Walsh Jesuit students received notice by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation that they are National Merit Commended Students in recognition of their outstanding academic promise from their performance on the 2021 PSAT. Those students are Lindsey Burke, Angelo Ciccolini, and Dominic Mastromatteo.  

NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 400 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.