Senior Among Top Students in Nation

Congratulations to senior Chaim Starr on being recognized as a National Merit Scholarship Program semi finalist. He is the only Jewish day school student in Illinois to rank among the top 1 percent of high school students in the nation.

According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), about 90 percent of semifinalists are expected to advance to become finalists, and about half of those will win a National Merit Scholarship. About 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered this year’s National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2016 PSAT/NMSQT as the first screen of program entrants.

In order for semifinalists to advance to the next level, students and schools must submit a detailed scholarship application with information about academic records, participation in school and community activities, leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. Finalists will be notified in February, and every finalist will compete for about 7,500 National Merit Scholarships funded by the NMSC, colleges and businesses.