The College Board has named Delilah Duguid ’24 a recipient of the National Indigenous Award for her outstanding academic accomplishments in high school and on College Board assessments. She is among the 72,000 students from across the country who received academic honors from at least one of the organization’s four recognition programs in August 2023.

In addition to granting academic honors that can be included in college and scholarship applications, the College Board National Recognition Programs create a pathway to higher education for academically competitive underrepresented students by meaningfully connecting them to colleges and universities across the country through Student Search Service. This College Board service allows institutions to identify awardees and conduct intentional, tailored outreach to them based on their Recognition Program award.

High-achieving students from all 50 states and U.S. territories were eligible to apply. Students must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher and have excelled on the PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10, or earned a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP Exams in the 9th and 10th grade. They must also attend high school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American or Black, Hispanic American or Latino, or Indigenous/Native.

The College Board initially launched the National Hispanic Recognition Program 39 years ago to increase access to higher education for academically competitive Latino students. Research showed that awarded students who also opted into Student Search Service had improved college enrollment and received additional funding. The first program’s success led College Board to expand the Recognition Programs in 2019 to include African American Recognition, Indigenous Recognition, and Rural/Small Town Recognition.

Rebecca Burnett ’24 and Savannah Eanes ’24 have been named Semifinalists in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. High school juniors across the country entered this year’s scholarship competition by taking the PSAT qualifying test last fall. As two of the highest-scoring entrants in Arkansas, Rebecca and Savannah join the group of academically talented high school seniors – representing less than one percent of the Class of 2024 nationwide – that has the opportunity to advance in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring.

Next Steps in the 2024 Competition

To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

From over 16,000 Semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to be announced as Finalists in February. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.

National Merit Scholarships

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2024. Every Finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis. About 840 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 160 corporations and business organizations for Finalists who meet their specified criteria. In addition, about 160 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 3,800 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.

The National Merit Scholarship winners of 2024 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join nearly 375,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.

Congratulations to Rebecca and Savannah!