Four BISD students have been honored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program Semifinalists

Officials of the National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSC) announced approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 64th annual NMSC on Sept. 12, 2018. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million that will be offered spring 2019.

Birdville ISD’s 2019 National Merit Semifinalists are:

• Camille Henyan (BHS)
• Jenna Ruhlman (BHS)
• Grace Disalvi (RHS)
• Kevin Pang (RHS)

Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. More than 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

Over 1.6 million juniors in about 22,000 high schools entered the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2017 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.

From the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to Finalist level, and in February NMSC will notify them of this designation.