TOWSON, MD—Three Baltimore County Public Schools students have been named semifinalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program coordinated by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.

The honored students are:

• Max Kumar Abubucker, Towson High School
• Noah W. Duncan, Eastern Technical High School
• Alexis C. Russell, Dulaney High School

“Congratulations to Max Kumar Abubucker, Noah Duncan, and Alexis Russell for their academic achievement and to the teachers, families, and administrators who taught, challenged, and supported them,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams. “These students represent the potential we see every day in all our students, in all our schools. Recognitions such as this inspire all members of the BCPS family to set and reach higher goals.”

High school juniors entered the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program by participating in the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NSMQT®). The highest scoring entrants in each state create the national pool of 16,000 semifinalists, which represents less than 1 percent of high school seniors in the nation. Most semifinalists advance to the finalist level (based on their academic records, recommendations, and SAT scores) and compete for 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million.

Through its longstanding partnership with the College Board, which administers the PSAT/NSMQT, BCPS provides funding so that all students in Grade 9 can take the PSAT 8/9, all students in Grades 10 and 11 can take the PSAT/NSMQT, and all Grade 11 students can take the SAT – all at no charge to the students or their families. The PSAT test provides practice for the SAT and provides BCPS educators with important assessments of student strengths and challenges.