Officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 55th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.  Two of those semifinalists named are Veritas Christian Academy Seniors Jessie Callaway and Andy Chu.  These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 8,200 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $36 million, that will be offered next spring.  More than 1.5 million juniors in about 22,000 high schools entered the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2008 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).  The nationwide pool of Semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.  Finalists in the program will be announced in February 2010, and scholarship winners will be announced beginning in April 2010.   

     In addition, Veritas Christian Academy Senior Samuel Caldemeyer has been named Commended Student in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program.  About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise.  Although they will not continue in the 2010 competition for National Merit Scholarships, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2010 competition by taking the 2008 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).

Andy Chu, Jessie Callaway, and Sam Caldemeyer