Nineteen Pearland ISD students competing for National Merit scholarshipsPearland Independent School District proudly announces 19 semifinalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program.These semifinalists include Pearland High School's Sophie Adams and Geneva Cline and Dawson High School's Catherine Bai, Ana Budimlic, Iris Chen, Aaron Cheng, Ivy Gong, Isabela Haskins, Scarlett Kamga, Lillian Keaton, Matthew Li, Ethan Nguyen, Gracin Nguyen, Faith Victoria Ni, Raina Qiu, Tanmay Savargaonkar, James Williams III, Noah Yared and Harrison Zhu.Approximately 16,000 students -- less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors -- reached the semifinalist stage this year, thanks to their high scores on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) during their junior year in each state.Approximately 1.5 million juniors entered the 2023 scholarship program by taking the 2021 PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.About National Merit Scholarship Program:In spring 2023, semifinalists who advance to the finalist round will compete for approximately 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth a combined value of nearly $28 million. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state.To become Merit Scholar finalists, students must not only have outstanding academic records throughout high school but also earn high SAT scores and demonstrate leadership in school and community activities.Finalists will compete for the following awards:2,500 single-payment National Merit® $2500 Scholarships for which all Finalists will be considered; about 950 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for which Finalists who meet a company or business grantor’s specified criteria will be considered; and some 3,800 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for which only Finalists who will attend their respective sponsor institutions are considered.