Five Interlochen Arts Academy students named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists
Seniors Jonah Cohen, Ella Dorsey, Carolyn Hoff, Grace Leonard, and Maddy Zuckerman received recognition in the prestigious national competition.
Interlochen Arts Academy's National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists. Left: Grace Leonard. Top row, L-R: Ella Dorsey and Carolyn Hoff. Bottom row, L-R: Jonah Cohen and Maddy Zuckerman.
Five Interlochen Arts Academy seniors were named semifinalists in the prestigious National Merit Scholarship Competition: Jonah Cohen, a music composition student from Farmington Hills, Michigan; Ella Dorsey, a piano student from San Diego, California; Carolyn Hoff, a organ student from Chevy Chase, Maryland; Grace Leonard, a viola student from Murrells Inlet, South Carolina; and Maddy Zuckerman, a voice student from Norwich, Vermont.
Annually, more than 1.5 million high school students enter the National Merit Scholarship program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Approximately 16,000 students—the highest-scoring entrants from each U.S. state—are selected as semifinalists.
Following their selection, semifinalists will complete a formal application to the National Merit Scholarship Competition. Entrants are then evaluated based on academic performance, administrator recommendation, and SAT or ACT test scores. Finalists for the National Merit Scholarship Program will be selected in February 2022, with winners announced from March to mid-June.
The National Merit Scholarship Competition was founded in 1955 to identify and honor academically talented U.S. high school students and provide scholarships to exceptionally gifted entrants. Each year, approximately 7,500 students are selected to receive either a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship or a corporate or college-sponsored merit award.
Since 1962, Interlochen Arts Academy students have pursued rigorous, college-preparatory academics alongside advanced pre-professional training in the arts, preparing them to thrive in the arts and beyond. Academy students routinely demonstrate both artistic and academic excellence, regularly placing well in the National Merit Scholarship Competition and other scholastic recognition programs and going on to top colleges, universities, and conservatories.
