Five seniors from Bethpage High School were recently honored in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. Georgia Karaisarides was named a National Merit semifinalist, while Manuel Jimenez, Nicholas Karaisarides, Sophia Passaro, and Megan Selwin were recognized as Commended Students. Each student was selected based on their exceptional scores on the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT).
As a semifinalist, Georgia is among 16,000 students representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors who are in the running for some 7,250 National Merit Scholarships. Her next step is to become a National Merit finalist. More than 15,000 semifinalists are expected to advance to the finalist level. Georgia and a school official will need to submit a detailed scholarship application highlighting her academic record, extracurricular activities, leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards. To become a finalist, a student must have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn high SAT or ACT scores. Georgia will find out in February if she has advanced to the finalist round.
Her brother Nicholas, along with Manuel, Sophia, and Megan received Letters of Commendation for their outstanding academic promise. They are among 34,000 of the approximately 50,000 students who were deemed high scorers on the PSAT/NMSQT. Some Commended Students become candidates for special scholarships sponsored by businesses and corporations.
Bethpage Schools congratulates these seniors and wishes Georgia the best of luck as she continues in the competition!
Bethpage High School Scholars
October 25, 2022