WARWICK, RI (February 13, 2023) – Mark DeCiccio ’03, Principal, and Natalie Kessimian, Assistant Principal, are pleased to announce that Atul Thyvalappil ’23 and Alexander White ’23 have been named National Merit Scholarship Finalists and are now being considered to receive a National Merit Scholarship Award.
The 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program recently determined which of the thousands of Semifinalists met all requirements to advance to Finalist standing in the competition. The distinction places the young men in a group representing less than 1% of all high school seniors in the country, including the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
“Atul and Alex represent the very best of Bishop Hendricken’s commitment to academic excellence,” said DeCiccio. “Being named a National Merit Scholarship Finalist speaks volumes, not only as an impressive academic achievement, but also of the character and leadership abilities of these young men. We are incredibly proud.”
The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Of the 1.5 million entrants, some 50,000 with the highest PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index scores qualify for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program. 16,000 students, or approximately one-third of the high scorers, were notified in September that they qualified as Semifinalists. To ensure that academically talented young people from all parts of the United States are included in this talent pool, Semifinalists are designated on a state-representational basis.
Every Finalist will compete for a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship that will be awarded on a state-representational basis in the spring of 2023. There are three types of National Merit Scholarship awards: $2500 National Merit Scholarships, Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards, and College-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards.
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CONTACT: Christian Kabbas
Director of Communications & Marketing
401.889.5395
ckabbas@hendricken.com