DCE students semifinalists in scholarship program

WESTON — D.C. Everest Area School District announced today two seniors at D.C. Everest Senior High School have been named semifinalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.

As high school juniors, Derek Prince and Peter Schwantes completed the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

These high school seniors now have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 2,500 National Merit Scholarships that will be offered in the spring.

About 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies.