CULLMAN, Ala. – The officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program this fall. Allison Tuggle, Cullman High School principal, announced that senior May Dawsey was named as a Semifinalist in this prestigious program.
An academically talented high school senior who was the only NMSC Semifinalist named from all of Cullman County, May now has the opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, May must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95% of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Over 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 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.
