[ot-caption title=”The eighteen National Merit Semifinalists pose for a photo with Dr. Markham and Mr. Walters on September 17, 2014. (via Jack Steinberg, Sophomore)” url=”https://pcpawprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/nationalmerit-e1410999896368-1.jpg”]

Every October, about one and a half million juniors take the PSAT, competing for a chance to become a National Merit Semifinalist.  National Merit Semifinalists are announced in September of senior year. To become a National Merit Semifinalist, students must achieve a score in the ninety-ninth percentile on the PSAT. The PSAT consists of questions from mathematics, critical reading, and writing skills. This mostly multiple-choice test is similar to the SAT, but it is out of 240 points, rather than the SAT’s 2400 points.

That score varies from state to state, and year to year. Approximately 16,000 students qualify to become Semifinalists every year. The test scores are calculated for each state so that there is an even distribution of semifinalists throughout the country.

If these students meet high academic standards and other requirements they can eventually qualify to become National Merit Finalists. Usually around ninety percent of National Merit Semifinalists qualify to become National Merit Finalists, which will be announced on April 22, 2015.

Eventually, these Finalists are narrowed down to approximately 8,000 scholarship award winners by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.  The Finalists are chosen based on their grades, the school’s curricular and grading system, two sets of test scores, the high school official’s written recommendation,the student’s extracurricular activities, and an essay written by the Finalist.

Here at Pine Crest, 18 seniors qualified to become National Merit Semifinalists this year. These incredible talented students include Divya Bhansali, James Crissy, Elizabeth Donaway, Alexa Eskenazi, Imtiaz Fatteh, Esther Gelman, Lauren Houle, Alexis Kesselman, Alan Koolik, Matthew Kronengold, Claudia Malone, Alexandra Oshinsky, Carson Poltorack, Mark Rabin, Marissa Radensky, Lindsay Sack, A.J Sacks, and Genevieve Selden. When asked about what it was like to become a Semifinalist, Alexa Eskenazi remarked, “I’m so honored to be amongst these other seventeen people. Congrats to everybody!”

“I’m excited for my other seventeen classmates to have achieved this high level of recognition with me,” added Carson Poltorack, another one of the Semifinalists.

While this is a hard accomplishment in terms of statistics, Pine Crest continually ranks amongst the top high schools in the country for having the most National Semifinalists in a private school. Administrators, teachers, and classmates are proud of the seniors who achieved the coveted title of becoming a National Merit Semifinalist.

Congratulations to all of the National Merit Semifinalists and we wish them the best of luck in becoming Finalists!