Two at CCHS named National Merit semifinalists

Two Carbondale Community High School seniors have been named National Merit semifinalists for the Class of 2020.

Last week, the National Merit Corporation released the names of the approximately 16,000 semifinalists. Among them were Kathleen Schultz and John Paul Taylor, both CCHS seniors.

The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants from the 2018 PSAT/NMSQT assessment in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state's percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

Schultz and Taylor both will complete a comprehensive application in order to be considered for National Merit Finalist standing, which will be announced in February. Their applications also allow them to compete for 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth about $31 million that will be awarded in spring 2020. Finalist honors also allow students access to specific corporate and college/university scholarships.

The closest high school to CCHS with multiple semifinalists awarded was Edwardsville High School, which also had two students qualify.