EVANSTON, Ill. — A number of Maine School of Science and Mathematics students were recently named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
Officials at the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) recently announced approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 62nd annual program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships, worth about $33 million, that will be offered next spring.
These MSSM students qualified as semifinalists: Sadie Allen, Nathaniel Ferguson, Nathan Gere, Irja Hepler, Marsden Jacques, Peter Nielsen, Trilok Polavaram and Henry Terhune.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level. About 90 percent are expected to attain finalist standing, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, 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 420 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.
The program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. About 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
To become a finalist, the semifinalist and his or her high school must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the student’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.
A candidate must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT scores that confirm his or her earlier performance on the qualifying test.
