National Merit Scholars

On September 10th, officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors finished in roughly the top 1% of the students tested, and they have an opportunity to continue in the competition for Finalist standing and some 6,930 National Merit Scholarships.

St. James Academy is proud to announce that three members of our senior class have been named as National Merit Semifinalists: Reece Childress, Leah Haeusser, and Andrew Rickert. Please join us in congratulating Reece, Leah, Andrew, and their families on this incredible achievement!

Additionally, St. James received notification on September 18th that an additional four seniors have received recognition as Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended students comprise the next 34,000 highest scorers on last fall’s PSAT, putting them in roughly the top 3% of all testers nationwide. Congratulations to Jonathan Brazil, Catelynn Conrad, Clara Kueny, and Abigail Schaffhausen for this accomplishment!

“We are so proud of these seven kids and what they’ve achieved already,” said Andy Tylicki, President of St. James. “They represent not only the academic excellence in their class, but the faith and virtue that we hope all students can grow towards in their time here.”

Finalists in the National Merit Scholarship program will be announced in February. 

On September 11th, officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors finished in roughly the top 1% of the students tested, and they have an opportunity to continue in the competition for Finalist standing and some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships.

St. James Academy is proud to announce that two members of our senior class, Will Book and Avery O’Hara, have been named as National Merit Semifinalists! Congratulations to Will, Avery, and their families!

Additionally, St. James received notification on September 12th that an additional three seniors have received recognition as Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended students comprise the next 34,000 highest scorers on last fall’s PSAT, putting them in roughly the top 3% of all testers nationwide. Congratulations to Carlie Cure, Jonathan May, and Caleb Ochs for this accomplishment!

Finally, five seniors received National Recognition Awards as either Hispanic or First Generation Scholars: Leah Cordova, Jonathan May, Nicholas May, Benjamin Murdie, and Ethan Ryan. These students finished in the top 10% of test-takers and identify as a first-generation college-bound student and/or Hispanic or Latino

“To have two Semifinalists, three Commended Students, and nine total students recognized for their achievement is a testament to the strength and talent of this senior class,” said Andy Tylicki, President of St. James. “More importantly, so many of these kids represent the best of what we strive for here in being faithful, well-rounded kids who make the others around them better.”

Finalists in the National Merit Scholarship program will be announced in February. 

On September 13th, officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors finished in roughly the top 1% of the students tested, and they have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships.

St. James Academy is proud to announce that senior Amalia Millard has been named as a National Merit Semifinalist! Congratulations to Amalia and her family!

Additionally, St. James received notification on September 20th that another senior has received recognition as a Commended Student in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended students comprise the next 34,000 highest scorers on last spring’s PSAT, putting them in roughly the top 3% of all testers nationwide. Congratulations to Sydney Lanham for this accomplishment!

“These are obviously two incredibly talented young women,” said Andy Tylicki, President of St. James. “You have to have talent to achieve at that level. They are also bought into who we are as a community and what we want to accomplish as a school, which makes them perfect representatives of this year’s senior class.”

Finalists in the National Merit Scholarship program will be announced in February.

On September 14th, officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors finished in the top 1% of the students tested, and they have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,250 National Merit Scholarships.

St. James Academy is proud to announce that senior Elizabeth McCann has been named as a National Merit Semifinalist! Congratulations to Elizabeth and her family!

Additionally, St. James received notification on September 20th that two other seniors have received recognition as Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended students comprise the next 34,000 highest scorers on last spring’s PSAT, putting them in the top 3% of all testers nationwide. Congratulations to Grace Hecke and Helena Stafford for this accomplishment!

“To have three of our seniors recognized by the National Merit program is something our whole school can be proud of,” said Andy Tylicki, President of St. James. “These three young women are great examples of the type of excellence that our students achieve in a variety of areas, and we are so excited to celebrate them in the days and months to come.”

February 2023 Update: NMSC is excited to announce the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists in the 2023 National Merit® Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring. Senior Elizabeth McCann has now advanced to the Finalist stage!