Photo by Kristie Hoang
By Kristie Hoang
Seniors Benjamin Din, Umbreen Ali, Amanda Stark, Jonathon Clements are this year’s semifinalists for the National Merit Scholarship competition.
The PSAT/NMSQT is a rigorous exam that tests students on their knowledge and careful timing. “What helped the most for me was not reading books with tips and strategies,” said Clements. “Rather, what helped me was taking practice tests, so that I could get used to the timing, directions, and types of questions on the test.”
The National Merit Scholarship competition is an academic competition founded in 1995. To enter the competition, high school students in their junior year must take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. A student’s responses to specific questions on the PSAT/NMSQT determine whether they are eligible to participate in the program.
To qualify to be a semifinalist, participants must score more than the cut-off score. This score varies by state; in California it is 223.
All four of the finalists agreed that they did not study much leading up to the test.
“I didn’t feel that much pressure when I took the PSAT,” Din stated. “The PSAT is just a test, and the test results don’t define a person. I knew that even if I did poorly, it wouldn’t have that big of an effect on me. A lot of people don’t realize that PSAT scores only count toward National Merit, and colleges don’t even ask for them.”
There are almost 1.5 million entrants to the program each year. 50,000 of them score high enough to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship. In September, these students are notified through their schools that they have either qualified for a commended student, or a semifinalist. 34,000 of these students are commended students who receive Letters of Commendation in recognition of their academic success. Unfortunately, these students do not continue forward in the competition.
The other 16,000 are semifinalists and the top 4% in the country. The NMSC provides scholarship application materials to semifinalists through their high schools. Semifinalists must advance to finalist standing in the competition by meeting high academic standards and all other requirements in the application.
“I tried my hardest, though, and the fact that this work has paid off in my test scores and my school rank has made me proud of my efforts and accomplishments,” said Clements. “It is a great feeling to know that my hard work and dedication has put me in the top tier of students.”
