In September, officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the Semifinalists in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program – including Maxwell H. and Gustavo P. of BASIS Independent Brooklyn’s Class of 2025! These high school seniors can now continue in the competition for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring. Alongside our two Semifinalists, we proudly celebrated three Commended Scholars: James R., Maxim S., and Ryan T. ’25.

High school juniors entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. 

“The honored students exemplify the spirit of excellence seen throughout our school, ” said Josh Harmon, Head of School at BASIS Independent Brooklyn. “Their accomplishment reflects the level of achievement that we strive for, and I am sure that I speak for the entire community when I say that we couldn’t be more proud of these individuals and commend them on their hard work and dedication.”

From over 16,000 Semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February they will be notified of this designation. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. The scholarship winners of 2025 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. All Merit Scholar recipients are selected based on their abilities, achievements, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

On behalf of all BASIS Independent Schools, we are so proud of you—and of all of our students—for your continual academic achievements. Please join us in congratulating our incredible Bears!

BASIS Independent Brooklyn is a PreK– Grade 12 private school, providing students with an internationally benchmarked liberal arts and sciences curriculum, with advanced STEM offerings. Considering joining the Bears community? To join our interest list for the next school year and receive admissions updates and more, please click here.