September 18, 2023

Wimberley High School senior Brennan Ramsey has been named as a semifinalist in the 2024 National Merit® Scholarship Program. Ramsey is one of more than 16,000 semifinalists in the U.S., and one of only 1,543 seniors in Texas receiving the prestigious honor. Over 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

In addition to his stellar academic record, Ramsey also has competed for Wimberley on the UIL Academics team and has run on the track and cross country squads. In his free time, he participates in ninja warrior obstacle course competitions. Last year, he was the Texas Ninja League 15U State Champion.  Last spring, he was the World Ninja League Tier 2 Young Adult Champion, and this summer, he placed 6th as an Amateur Adult in the Ultimate Ninja League World Championships in Orlando. Upon graduation next spring, Brennan plans to pursue Mechanical Engineering. He is the son of Ted and Adrian Ramsey and his sister Carson was a National Merit Scholar in 2022 at WHS.

Ramsey will now have the opportunity to become a Finalist in the program. To do so, he must submit a detailed scholarship application, which must include his academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®) operates the scholarship program and is a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, and was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 320 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.