Sussex Academy students named National Merit semifinalists

Sussex Academy students Dylan Thomas and Brady Thompson were recently announced as semifinalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Semifinalists must have outstanding academic records throughout high school, an endorsement and recommendation by a high school official, and have written an essay as part of the scholarship application. These academically talented high school seniors are part of an elite group of approximately 16,000 semifinalists nationwide who now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for more than 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered in spring 2023. The nationwide pool of semifinalists represents fewer than 1% of U.S. high school seniors.

The National Merit Scholarship Program initially recognizes 50,000 high-scoring students throughout the country. The program then whittles the number of students recognized in order to eventually choose winners. The program goes from 50,000 recognized students to about 34,000 in its commended students’ level. From the 34,000 commended students, the program cuts the number down to about 16,000 to name as semifinalists.

Sussex Academy is a public charter, tuition-free school offering an accelerated academic program for Delaware students in kindergarten to 12th grade. To learn more, go to sussexacademy.org.