25 Ben Franklin seniors named Semifinalists in National Merit Scholarship Program

Benjamin Franklin High School is proud to announce the following twenty-five (25) seniors have been selected as Semifinalists in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program announced yesterday by the officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC):

Natalie Bennett
Georgia Bourderionnet
Andrew Burin
Thomas Chang
Isaac Constans
Jeanne Daigle
Jessica Garda
Alexander Gascon
Elise Gonzalez
Eliot Guerin
Mia Guillot
Shenghan Guo
Travis Haycraft
Addison Howenstine
Lydia Orfila
Kunrui Peng
Sadhana Puri
Janet Ruppert
Leah Samuels
Elijah Scarlett
Colin Sharpe
Luke Tang
Noah Waltzer
Sarah Wang
Xiaoshu Zheng

 
The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and their high school must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record through-out high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
 
These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,000 National Merit Scholarships worth about $35 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and more than half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.
 
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 440 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.
 
 National Merit Scholarship winners of 2014 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July.
 
For more information on the National Merit Scholarship Program, go to: www.nationalmerit.org
 
For more information on Benjamin Franklin High School, go to: www.bfhsla.org
 
###
 
Benjamin Franklin High School, located on the University of New Orleans campus, was founded in 1957, its stated mission, to prepare students of high academic achievement to be successful in life.  Franklin has been consistently ranked as a “top public high school in the nation” by U.S. News and World Report, Newsweek, and Business Week magazines and has received the highest School Performance Score in Louisiana, making it the #1 public school in the state again this year.  Franklin is a National Blue Ribbon School.
 
Contact:  Christy Cowart Read ’89                                   
Director of Advancement                                                    
christy_read@benfranklinhighschool.org                                                                       504-286-2615/Cell: 504-723-0783