CULLMAN, Ala. – St. Bernard Preparatory School is proud to announce that senior Willa Smith has been named a Semifinalist in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. Smith is among the elite group of 268 students from Alabama to receive this honor, placing her in the top 1% of U.S. high school seniors.
Smith was selected from a nationwide pool of over 1.3 million students across approximately 21,000 high schools who entered the 2025 competition by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). The Semifinalists represent the highest-scoring entrants in each state, with Alabama contributing 268 of these exceptional students.
To advance to the Finalist stage, Smith and a school official will submit a detailed scholarship application that highlights her academic achievements, leadership roles, involvement in school and community activities and numerous honors and awards. Finalists are required to maintain an outstanding academic record throughout high school, secure a recommendation from a school official, write an essay and present SAT or ACT scores that confirm their earlier PSAT/NMSQT performance.
Of the 16,000 Semifinalists, more than 15,000 will advance to the Finalist level in February. All Finalists will be in the running for the prestigious National Merit Scholarship award, with winners selected based on their academic success, extracurricular involvement and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
Three types of National Merit Scholarships are to be awarded in the spring of 2025. Finalists will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, awarded on a state-representational basis. In addition, about 770 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships will be offered by almost 130 corporations and business organizations. Approximately 150 colleges and universities will provide around 3,600 scholarships to Finalists who attend their institutions.
The National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced between April and July of 2025. Those students will join an exclusive group of over 382,000 Merit Scholars recognized since the program’s inception.
St. Bernard Prep President Fr. Joel Martin had nothing but high praise for the high school senior, saying, “We are rightly proud of Willa for this achievement and wish her success as she advances in the National Merit Scholarship competition. She is deserving of recognition in this and in all areas of her exemplary life at St. Bernard.”
