Rockwall, Texas – Two seniors from the Rockwall Independent School District have made it to the semifinals of the famous National Merit Scholarship Program for 2025. This is a big accomplishment in their academic careers. Savannah C. from Rockwall-Heath High School and Angela W. from Rockwall High School are now in the running for big scholarships next spring. They are competing against students from all over the country.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) honors the most talented kids in the United States every year. Not even 1% of the more than 1.3 million juniors from almost 21,000 high schools who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in 2023 and are now in the semifinals have made it this far. It is with great honor that Angela and Savannah are now part of this special group, which is made up of the top scorers from Texas.
It takes a lot of hard work to get to the National Merit Semifinals. Students must meet a number of requirements, such as having done very well in all of their classes from 9th to 12th grade and in college. To get to the finalist stage, one need to keep up the academic standards and meet a few other requirements that will be looked at in the coming months.
In 2025, the National Merit Scholarship Program will give out about 6,870 grants worth a total of almost $26 million. It is expected that about 95% of semifinalists will move on to the finals. Of those finalists, about 50% will win a National Merit Scholarship and become a Merit Scholar®.
Angela and Savannah’s journeys so far show how great of an educational institution Rockwall ISD is. Angela and Savannah have shown not only how hard the students work and how dedicated they are, but also how committed the district is to academic excellence. Both the community and the Rockwall ISD are behind these students as they get ready to move on in this very difficult scholarship contest. School officials hope that their academic journey will serve as an example for other students in the district.