September 1999
For Immediate Release, Press Release
For comment, contact Brenda Buschbacher at
(630) 907-5033
AURORA-- A total of 43 Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (IMSA) seniors have qualified as semifinalists in this year's National Merit Scholarship Corporation competition.
The semifinalists represent 28 communities and 38 home schools throughout Illinois. Local-area recipients include: (see attached list).
More than one million seniors in more than 20,000 U.S. high schools entered the year 2000 competition by taking the qualifying exam in 1998 (their junior year). National semifinalists include approximately one-half of one percent of each state’s seniors.
Semifinalists from throughout the nation will now try to advance to the finalist level of the competition. Approximately 7,600 finalists eventually will receive merit scholarships for college undergraduate study. Merit scholars will be announced in the spring of 2000.
Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall, IMSA president, noted that credit for the students' achievements should be shared. "Their outstanding performance is a tribute to the students themselves, as well as their families, home schools, and IMSA faculty and staff," she said.
Located in Aurora, Illinois, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy® (IMSA) is an internationally-recognized pioneering educational institution created by the State to develop talent and stimulate excellence in teaching and learning in mathematics, science and technology. IMSA's advanced residential college preparatory program enrolls 650 academically talented Illinois students in grades 10-12. More than 14,000 teachers and 20,000 students in Illinois and beyond have benefited from IMSA's professional development and enrichment programs. IMSA serves the people of Illinois through innovative instructional programs, public and private partnerships, policy leadership and action research.