Bellefontaine senior Oliver Moreland has been recognized for his academic excellence.
Moreland has been selected as a winner of a National Merit $2,500 Scholarship.
The recipients (2,500 total) were chosen from more than 15,000 Finalists nationwide.
In March, Moreland was named a National Merit Scholarship Finalist.
He qualified as a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist in September.
Moreland entered the 2024 National Merit Scholars Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) administered to interested juniors at Bellefontaine High School. The nationwide pool of semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, including the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
Several requirements must be fulfilled to attain finalist standing. These include a detailed scholarship application that showcased Moreland’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.
Over 1.5 million students across 21,000 high schools entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Bellefontaine City Schools Gifted Coordinator Angie Horvath said, “I cannot think of a more deserving student. I love this for Ollie. I am constantly impressed with his humble and compassionate nature in all things. BCS is very proud that Ollie will be a BHS alum and continue to make his mark on the world upon graduation.”
Last spring, Moreland scored a perfect 36 on the ACT and a perfect 1600 on the SAT.
He will study computer science at Harvard University.
Ollie is the 43rd National Merit Scholar Finalist at BHS, dating back to 1957 when Bellefontaine joined the program (the program started in 1955).
Also, BHS has had 15 National Merit Commended students and 6 National Achievement Commended and Finalist students. (The National Achievement Program ran from 1965-2015).
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with their own funds and approximately 400 businesses and higher education institutions that share the goal of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.
Moreland’s parents are Tom and Rachel Moreland.
