Middleburg Academy senior Caroline Greer of Aldie was named a Semifinalist in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program in recognition of her exceptional academic promise and achievement. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.

Caroline Greer is among the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists who have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,000 National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $35 million. To be considered for the Merit Scholarship award that will be offered in the spring, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 90% of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and more than half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the full "Merit Scholar" title.

Middleburg Academy has a strong record of producing National Merit Scholarship Program designees. Caswell Bennett '13 of Sterling, now in his first year at Georgetown University, achieved the highest possible award last spring when he was named a National Merit Scholar. Alex Rossi '13 of Leesburg, who just entered the University of Virginia as a Jefferson Scholar, was a Commended Scholar.

Approximately 1.5 million students in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2012 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.

Caroline Greer is the daughter of Cindy and Robert Greer of Aldie and a graduate of Mercer Middle School. She has contributed abundantly to life at Middleburg Academy as that rare student who excels in the full range of subject areas, as well as in the visual arts and athletics.

Among her most recent accolades is being named a Virginia Aerospace and Technology Scholar; Greer was subsequently selected to attend the week-long, all expenses paid 2013 Summer Academy at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. Last Spring, she won the First Prize (Drawing Category) in the 10th Congressional District Art Exhibition and also received, at her secondary school's Academic Awards Ceremony in May, The Jefferson Book Award presented by the University of Virginia Alumni. At that same ceremony, Greer was also acknowledged with a President's Award for Educational Excellence and a Presidential Award for Service, and received an exceptional number of subject achievement awards (Honors English 11; AP United States History; Physics; AP/DE Calculus AB; AP/College Chemistry; and College Art).

Caroline Greer's abilities, along with those of her two teammates, helped "Masters of Light" capture Third Place overall in the STEM Summit Challenge Competition at Foxcroft School last February -- the only Loudoun County-based team to earn a top prize. She is a member of the National Honor Society and Student Council; editor of the school yearbook; and has played Varsity Field Hockey and Girls Varsity Soccer throughout her high school career. Outside of school, she volunteers weekly in the Pediatric Unit at Inova Loudoun Hospital.