News

Six Ankeny Students Named Finalists in the 2024 National Merit® Scholarship Program

Six Ankeny Community School District students have been announced as National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) finalists. Ankeny Centennial High School seniors Elizabeth Deng, Duy Duong, Aidan Jones, Ava Lowe, Lucas Muta, and Ankeny High School senior Hannah Howard are among the approximate 16,000 finalists in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. 

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $28 million that will be offered next spring. It is expected that approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title. NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. 

Steps in the 2024 Competition

High school juniors entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors. 

To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist, and a high school official submitted a detailed scholarship application in which they provided information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. They must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. Merit Scholar designees are selected based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.

National Merit Scholarships

National Merit Scholarship winners of 2024 will be announced beginning in April and concluding in July.