Nine PCPS Students Announced as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists
Posted on 09/15/2023
National Merit Scholarship Corp logo

Nine students from Polk County Public Schools are among this year’s semifinalists for National Merit Scholarships.

Congratulations to:

– Nicholas Kieffer, Johnathan Marocco, Abraham Medina, Mohan Nakka, Isabel Philip, Melissa Thomas and Kim-Linh Vo; International Baccalaureate Bartow

– Abrar Amin, International Baccalaureate Haines City

– Eric Brown, Winter Haven High

The PCPS students are among more than 16,000 “academically talented” U.S. high school seniors competing for National Merit Scholarships this year. High school juniors are able to become National Merit semifinalists by performing well on qualifying tests; those ultimately selected are the highest-scoring entrants from each state, representing less than 1% of seniors nationwide.

Approximately 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million will be awarded this year. Winners will be named in a series of announcements beginning in April and concluding in July.

PCPS had five National Merit winners last year.

Collage of National Merit semifinalists