What does $2,500 mean to the average student? That is how much money around 8,000 U.S. high school students can win from the National Merit Scholarship. This particular financial scholarship has been awarded to “outstanding” students since 1956, based on their PSAT scores, to assist them with their college journey.
Those 8,000 scholars are whittled down from 16,000 Semifinalists and 34,000 Commended Students, all out of a whopping 1.3 million overall entrants. So, props to Oakton High School’s 14 Semifinalists and 52 Commended Students, who were lauded earlier this month in a special ceremony.
Commended Scholar Selin Mehmed (12) is “very proud of” herself and “really appreciated being recognized in front of everyone else” during the celebration. The school provided Crumbl Cookies and Dunkin coffee, which Semifinalist Chloe Lee (12) tells the Oakton Outlook was very well-received.
This prestigious scholarship is administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which helps distribute $35 million towards the awards nationwide. The NMSC aims to, “identify and honor academically talented U.S. high school students and encourage them to pursue rigorous college studies.”
Mehmed agrees, asserting that her honor as a Commended Student has made her aware of her capabilities as a high schooler and that she can, in fact, “do and achieve hard things.” For Semifinalist Sreeja Gudiseva (12), being recognized has reinforced her belief that she is heading in the right academic direction. Noting that she has “always been pretty set in what [she] wanted to do with [her] life,” the possibility of winning the money “would be a dream.”
These driven and hardworking seniors have a lot to look forward to – and a lot to offer to those coming behind them. Although current juniors’ PSAT scores have already been submitted for review to be recognized as possible Merit Scholars for the class of 2025, underclassmen still have some time before they have to prepare to take the test in their junior year.
So how do they get their hands on that lucrative $2,500? Lee advises students to get ready for the PSAT by doing practice tests while adhering to time restrictions and eliminating any and all distractions. Specifically for the English section, she notes that test takers should not “try to assume anything new from the text.” Rather, try to focus on the text in front of you and not on any hidden meanings, as it is “not like an English analysis essay.”
Lee, Gudiseva, and their fellow Semifinalists are expecting an announcement in February as to whether or not they have qualified as Finalists. Gudiseva explains that she “had to fill out an application almost similar to filling out a college application with [her] extracurriculars and an essay.” However, it’s not over in February, either. The NMSC’s extensive selection process continues all the way through May.
Only in six months time, then, will those finalists discover whether they have secured that tantalizing $2,500 boost.
