Dev Tarwala, Rohit Mandapati, Frannie Krause and Quinn McCarthy. Photo courtesy of the Bronxville Union Free School District

By Blaine Malefatto, Syntax

Sept. 21, 2023: Bronxville High School seniors Frannie Krause, Rohit Mandapati, Quinn McCarthy and Dev Tarwala have been named semifinalists in the highly competitive National Merit Scholarship Program.

The four academically talented students are among the top 16,000 high school students nationwide – out of more than 1.3 million students who entered the competition – to continue competing for 7,140 scholarships that will be offered next spring.

The students entered the academic competition as juniors by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of entrants. They represent the top 1% of students in the United States who earned the highest scores in each state. According to the corporation, the National Merit Scholarship program honors students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. To become a finalist, they must submit a detailed scholarship application, provide information about their outstanding academic record, participation in school and community activities, employment, honors and awards received, as well as demonstrate leadership abilities. They must also write an essay, be endorsed by a high school official and earn scores that confirm their earlier performance on the qualifying test.

Out of the 16,000 semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the next round, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship. Finalists will be announced in February, while scholarship winners will be announced beginning in April 2024.