A survey was mailed to 169 Kansas students in the 1993 class of National Merit Semifinalists (NMSFs). Data were analyzed in terms of age, gender, race, language, family characteristics, high schools attended, extracurricular activities, leadership positions, part-time work, travel experiences outside the United States, high school programs, judgments concerning public schools, college/university preferences, and career plans. Results indicated that: (1) nearly two out of three of all Kansas NMSFs are males, and almost all are Caucasian Americans; (2) NMSF parents are unusually stable and well educated; (3) 18 percent of the state's high schools produce all of the NMSFs; (4) NMSFs report frequent participation in extracurricular nonsport activities and some participation in extracurricular sports and community-based activities; (5) four out of five NMSFs hold high school leadership positions; (6) more than half hold part-time jobs during the school year; (7) nearly two-thirds have traveled outside of the United States; (8) 70% of students reported taking accelerated or Advanced Placement courses; (9) almost 80 percent assigned their schools a grade of A or B; (10) 38 percent listed Kansas colleges and universities among the three institutions they would like to attend; (11) more than one-third had not made a career choice; and (12) only 20 percent listed Kansas as the state in which they would prefer to spend their careers. Appendixes contain statistical data supporting the study and a copy of the survey questionnaire. (Contains 26 references.) (JDD)