The National Merit Scholarship Corporation released its list of National Merit Semifinalists and Commended Students, naming eight Mariemont High School students as National Merit Scholars. Daniel Cooper and Harry Manzler were previously named semifinalists for the prestigious award while Rachel Bohl, Charlotte Hagen, Samuel Hicks-Jirkans, Stephen O’Hara, Benner Rogers and Lilly Sharp have received Commended honors.
The National Merit® Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test — which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.5 million entrants each year— and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements.
The eight MHS students placed among the top 50,000 scorers from the over 1.5 million high school juniors who entered the 2023 competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
As semifinalists, Cooper and Manzler will continue in the 2023 competition in the hopes of earning one of 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million to be offered next spring. The nation-wide pool of semifinalists represents less than one percent of US high school seniors.
Although not moving on in the competition for scholarships, Bohl, Hagen, Hicks-Jirkans, O’Hara, Rogers and Sharp represent around 34,000 students from across the nation who are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise.