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EVANSTON, Ill. -- On Sept. 14 officials from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Among those semifinalists announced was Hannah Litts, a senior from Gladstone Area High School and the daughter of Wes and Barb Litts of Gladstone.
Litts is among the academically talented high school seniors who have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $28 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 95 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 and was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own fund and by approximately 340 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.