News Release
For Immediate Release
34% of Idaho's National Merit Semifinalists from Boise School District
Boise, ID -- (9/12/2019) -- Officials from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) have announced the names of Idaho students selected as Semifinalists in the 65th Annual National Merit Scholarship Program. A total of 30 students from the Boise School District have been selected as Semifinalists, which represents 34% of Idaho's total number of 2020 National Merit Semifinalists (87). That's an impressive showing considering Boise School District enrolls 8.3% of the public school students in Idaho.

"We congratulate each of our Semifinalists for this national recognition, which honors their exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies," said Boise School District Superintendent Coby Dennis. "The success of these students serves as yet another example of our commitment to providing a high quality education to each and every student."

More than 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2018 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.   

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. The Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record through-out 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.

These academically talented high school seniors now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million that will be offered next spring. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation issued a news release with the names of the Boise School District students and the other Idaho students selected as National Merit Semifinalists. 

Boise School District's Semifinalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program are pictured below in alphabetical order by last name.
Eli Anderson
Boise High School
Ethan Bassingthwaite
Boise High School
Jeonghyun Chae
Timberline High School
Brynne Coulam
Boise High School
Blaine Dillingham
Timberline High School
Isabelle Early
Borah High School
Molly Feeley
Timberline High School
Aiden Fox
Capital High School
Zane Harbison
Boise High School
Hallie Hinchman
Boise High School
Nathan Huskey
Borah High School
Joshua Jacobson
Capital High School
Minjun Kwak
Timberline High School
Lauren Lafrades 
Boise High School
Aaron Magalsky
Timberline High School
Sophia McKay
Timberline High School
William McClain-Sims
Borah High School
Mitchell Messerly
Borah High School
Ellen Min
Timberline High School
Benjamin Morenas
Capital High School
Jayanth Mouli 
Boise High School
Siddharth Naidu
Boise High School
Aaron Orenstein 
Capital High School
Grant Player
Capital High School 
Calvin Probst
Capital High School
Jonah Rocklein
Timberline High School
Carson Sloan 
Borah High School
Malia Smith
Timberline High School
Sage Warner
Timberline High School
Peter Wieber
Boise High School
News Media Contact: 
Dan Hollar 
Public Affairs Administrator 
Boise School District 
208-854-4064 
dan.hollar@boiseschools.org 
Boise School District | 8169 W. Victory Rd., Boise, Idaho | 208-854-4000 | Fax 208-854-4003| | www.boiseschools.org
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