Eight OHS seniors have recently been named National Merit Semifinalists. These eight seniors include Captain Alexander, Gates Allen, Charlie Frugé, Gilad Goulet, Scarlet Hemmins, Jackson Newman, Navaneeth Srinath, and Georgia Wigginton. These seniors now have the opportunity to continue in the competition for an opportunity to win a National Merit Scholarship (worth about $28 million), giving them the Merit Scholar Title.
Only around 50,000 participants gain recognition inside of the National Merit Scholarship Program. During early September, more than 16,000 of the 50,000 highest scorers will be informed that they have been selected as Semifinalists. The 34,000 remaining high scorers will be recognized as Commended Students and will be presented with Letters of Commendation, but are unable to continue competing for a National Merit Scholarship.
In order to become a finalist, a National Merit Semifinalist is required to submit a scholarship application with information including the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in community and school activities, honors and awards received, employment, and a demonstration of leadership abilities. Not only must you submit an application, you must also write an essay, be recommended and endorsed by a school official, have a vastly high academic record, and take the ACT or SAT to earn a score that confirms the performance made on the PSAT/NMSQT.
Not only was there academic preparation that went into becoming a semifinalist, but people continuously being supportive also played a big role in their success.
“All of my peers consistently have motivated me to persist and work hard through every challenge,” Srinath said. “I think a key part of the journey to get to where I am academically would be staying motivated throughout the learning process.”
The students took a handful of different approaches to preparing for the PSAT/NMSQT.
“I googled a bunch of test taking tips and did some math review with Ms. Black, my calculus teacher,” Alexander said. “I felt pretty good after the test, but I did not stress out about it too much because I know the cutoff for semifinalists changes every year.”
When the time came to get scores back, the seniors were pleased with the results.
“I gave it my all and when the scores came out, I was pretty happy with it,” Srinath said. “Semifinalist was just like a cherry on top.”
These students are proud to be where they are academically, but are not done yet.
“I’m pretty proud to be named a National Merit Semifinalist,” Hemmins said. “I want to become a Merit Scholar because I want to further my academic achievements.”
This group of semifinalists is very supportive of one another, which has been a crucial part in them achieving their accomplishments.
“I am proud of everybody.” Srinath said.
