Thomas Jefferson seniors named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists

(From Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School)

Congratulations to Seniors (from left) Abhijith Jenkins, Ian Ding, and Shrihari Nagarajan for earning distinction as a National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists. 

These TJ Seniors, who all live in Joplin, are three of only four students earning the semifinalist distinction our region, and are among 16,000 nationally to be selected as semifinalists. 

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation recognizes semifinalists who scored in the Top 1% in the nation on the PSAT. From the 16,000 semifinalists, approximately 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level. 

More than 1.5 million juniors in more than 21,000 high schools entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) last school year. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. 

 These seniors join an elite group of people recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program. That group includes Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Ben Bernanke, and TJ Pre-K teacher Stephanie Myers.

For more information about the National Merit Scholarship Program, visit http://www.nationalmerit.org.