Ian T. Hawthorne, Hannah M. Hofferberth and Mateo Pechon Elkins are Mount Vernon High School's three National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists for 2024.
This week, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of 16,000 semifinalists competing for its $28 million in Merit Scholarship awards issued annually.
Hawthorne, Hofferberth and Elkins scored among the top one percent of 1.3 million high school seniors who took the preliminary SAT.
"Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT orr ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test," according to NMSC.
Finalists will be announced starting in April and ending in July.
In Central Ohio, Mt. Vernon (3), Wooster (2), Orrville (1), Doylestown (1) and Lexington (1) have NMSC Semifinalists.
Wooster H.S. students Aubrey N. Hemming and Allison I. Snyder, Orrville H.S. student Ryan T. Miller, Chippewa H.S. student Lauren K. Luecke and Lexington H.S. student Noah R. Eckstein are semifinalists.
Ohio had 522 total semifinalists-- 147 from Metro Cincinnati (28 percent), 143 from Metro Columbus (27 percent), 140 from Metro Cleveland (27 percent), 46 from Metro Dayton (nine percent), 24 from Metro Toledo (five percent) and seven from Metro Canton (one percent).
A state's total number of semifinalists is proportional to its total percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors, NMSC says.
Founded in 1955, this is NMSC's 69th annual scholarship competition. Scholarships are $2,500, funded by corporations and business organizations that donate to NMSC.
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National Merit Scholarship Corp. Semifinalists: How does Mt. Vernon Compare?
Mt. Vernon has three NMSC semifinalists in 2024. How does that compare to other communities across Ohio?
| Community | County | Metro | # |
| The Plains | Athens | Athens | 1 |
| Massillon | Stark | Canton | 2 |
| Uniontown | Stark | Canton | 2 |
| North Canton | Stark | Canton | 3 |
| Hamilton | Butler | Cincinnati | 2 |
| Oxford | Butler | Cincinnati | 3 |
| Fairfield | Butler | Cincinnati | 4 |
| Liberty Township | Butler | Cincinnati | 4 |
| Milford | Clermont | Cincinnati | 1 |
| Williamsburg | Clermont | Cincinnati | 1 |
| Cincinnati | Hamilton | Cincinnati | 98 |
| Franklin | Warren | Cincinnati | 1 |
| Kings Mills | Warren | Cincinnati | 2 |
| Springboro | Warren | Cincinnati | 4 |
| Mason | Warren | Cincinnati | 27 |
| Lakewood | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 1 |
| Bay Village | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 2 |
| Cleveland Heights | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 2 |
| North Royalton | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 2 |
| Strongsville | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 2 |
| Westlake | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 2 |
| Pepper Pike | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 3 |
| Rocky River | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 3 |
| Broadview Heights | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 7 |
| Cleveland | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 7 |
| Chagrin Falls | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 8 |
| Gates Mills | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 12 |
| Shaker Heights | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 14 |
| Solon | Cuyahoga | Cleveland | 20 |
| Chardon | Geauga | Cleveland | 1 |
| Chesterland | Geauga | Cleveland | 2 |
| Hunting Valley | Geauga | Cleveland | 4 |
| Norwalk | Huron | Cleveland | 1 |
| Mentor | Lake | Cleveland | 4 |
| Amherst | Lorain | Cleveland | 1 |
| North Ridgeville | Lorain | Cleveland | 1 |
| Avon Lake | Lorain | Cleveland | 3 |
| Avon | Lorain | Cleveland | 5 |
| Medina | Medina | Cleveland | 2 |
| Aurora | Portage | Cleveland | 2 |
| Kent | Portage | Cleveland | 2 |
| Copley | Summit | Cleveland | 1 |
| Akron | Summit | Cleveland | 2 |
| Stow | Summit | Cleveland | 2 |
| Twinsburg | Summit | Cleveland | 2 |
| Cuyahoga Falls | Summit | Cleveland | 3 |
| Richfield | Summit | Cleveland | 8 |
| Hudson | Summit | Cleveland | 9 |
| Delaware | Delaware | Columbus | 2 |
| Lewis Center | Delaware | Columbus | 9 |
| Westerville | Delaware | Columbus | 9 |
| Powell | Delaware | Columbus | 11 |
| Pickerington | Fairfield | Columbus | 1 |
| Reynoldsburg | Fairfield | Columbus | 1 |
| Canal Winchester | Franklin | Columbus | 1 |
| Worthington | Franklin | Columbus | 1 |
| Grove City | Franklin | Columbus | 2 |
| Hilliard | Franklin | Columbus | 4 |
| New Albany | Franklin | Columbus | 7 |
| Bexley | Franklin | Columbus | 9 |
| Upper Arlington | Franklin | Columbus | 9 |
| Gahanna | Franklin | Columbus | 11 |
| Columbus | Franklin | Columbus | 14 |
| Dublin | Franklin | Columbus | 41 |
| Logan | Hocking | Columbus | 1 |
| Mount Vernon | Knox | Columbus | 3 |
| Heath | Licking | Columbus | 1 |
| Granville | Licking | Columbus | 4 |
| Bellefontaine | Logan | Columbus | 1 |
| West Jefferson | Madison | Columbus | 1 |
| Xenia | Greene | Dayton | 2 |
| Bellbrook | Greene | Dayton | 4 |
| Beavercreek | Greene | Dayton | 9 |
| Troy | Miami | Dayton | 2 |
| Clayton | Montgomery | Dayton | 1 |
| Englewood | Montgomery | Dayton | 1 |
| Miamsburg | Montgomery | Dayton | 1 |
| Kettering | Montgomery | Dayton | 5 |
| Dayton | Montgomery | Dayton | 9 |
| Centerville | Montgomery | Dayton | 11 |
| Minster | Shelby | Dayton | 1 |
| Findlay | Hancock | Findlay | 1 |
| Elida | Allen | Lima | 1 |
| Lima | Allen | Lima | 1 |
| Spencerville | Allen | Lima | 1 |
| Ottoville | Putnam | Lima | 1 |
| Lexington | Richland | Mansfield | 1 |
| Ottawa Hills | Lucas | Toledo | 3 |
| Toledo | Lucas | Toledo | 6 |
| Sylvania | Lucas | Toledo | 9 |
| Oak Harbor | Ottawa | Toledo | 1 |
| Bowling Green | Wood | Toledo | 2 |
| Perrysburg | Wood | Toledo | 3 |
| Doylestown | Wayne | Wooster | 1 |
| Orrville | Wayne | Wooster | 1 |
| Wooster | Wayne | Wooster | 2 |
| Austintown | Mahoning | Youngstown | 1 |
| Canfield | Mahoning | Youngstown | 1 |
| Poland | Mahoning | Youngstown | 1 |
| Youngstown | Mahoning | Youngstown | 1 |
Source: NMSC
