Waterville Senior High School senior Inga Zimba has been named a semifinalist in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Throughout the nation about 16,000 academically talented semifinalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million that will be offered next spring, according to a news release from Principal Brian Laramee.

Semifinalists placed among the top one percent of more than 1.5 million students across 21,000 high schools that entered the 2021 competition by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

The nationwide pool of semifinalists includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

“The young men and women being named semifinalists have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented a spokesperson for NMSC, according to the release. “To become a finalist, semifinalists must have a superior academic record, participate in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, and received local or national honors.” National Merit Scholarship winners of 2021 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July.

Zimba is the daughter of Travis and Yasameen Zimba.

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