In 2023, the state of Montana had 45 National Merit semifinalists who attended 22 different high schools around the state. Here in Missoula, Hellgate had 5 students who were named as semifinalists: Elias Winterer, Rose Wiltse, Claire Kinderwater, Liev Huber, and Laine Banziger. Hellgate had more semifinalists than any other school in the state (Go Knights!), followed closely by Billings West and Sentinel High School, both with 4 qualifiers.
In 2022, more than 1.3 million high school juniors took the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). More than 21,000 high schools around the United States had students sit for the exam. The PSAT/NMSQT is the qualifying exam to be entered in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Less than one percent of the juniors who take the test qualify to be a semifinalist for this award. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics only .3% of the total number of graduating seniors in the country live in Montana. Therefore, the National Merit Scholarship committee only recognizes the top .3% of the Montana test takers as semi finalists.
National Merit Scholars are eligible to receive 2,500 National Merit scholarships worth $2,500 each. They also qualify for 840 corporate-sponsored scholarships and about 3,800 college-sponsored scholarships. Scholarship winners will be announced between April and July 2024.
In order to become a finalist, the semifinalists must submit a detailed application that provides information about the student’s academic record, school and community involvement, leadership abilities, employment and awards received. Semifinalists must also take the SAT or ACT, and again perform well. They must receive at least a score of approximately 1320 on the SAT or 26 for the ACT to qualify. The semifinalists must also write an essay and be recommended by a high school administrator.
In past years Hellgate has had numerous semifinalist go on to be named finalists. In fact in 2022 of 6 semifinalists, 5 were named as National Merit Scholarship finalists. More than 15,000 semifinalists are expected to advance to the finalist level, which will be announced in February 2024.
