Four Wesleyan Students Advance in National Merit Scholarship Program

The College Advising office is pleased to announce that all four of Wesleyan's National Merit Semifinalists have advanced to be named 2013 National Merit Finalists.

Jeffrey Chang, Emily Dardaman, Cody Solomon, and Richard Yoder have been designated as Finalists in the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, these students "show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies."

Approximately 1.5 million students in over 22,000 U.S. high schools entered this year's 2013 Merit Program as juniors taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors were designated as Semifinalists on a state representational basis and chosen to compete for Finalist status.

Chosen as Finalists, Jeffrey, Emily, Cody, and Richard have demonstrated a strong academic record, have been endorsed and recommended by Sean Casey, Principal of the High School, and Ken Connor, Director of College Advising, and have submitted SAT scores that have confirmed their previous PSAT performance. In addition, the college advising office submitted a detailed scholarship application that included comprehensive academic information, personal recommendations, self-descriptive essays, and information about participation and leadership in school and community activities.

To date, college acceptances for these Finalists include: Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Georgia, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Virginia, and Washington and Lee University. Decisions are pending at Brown, Dartmouth, Dickinson, Emory, Harvard, Kenyon, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Princeton, Vanderbilt, and William and Mary.

Mr. Connor says, "These students are all exceptional and represent themselves and Wesleyan well. Each will be a credit to the college of their choice." Congratulations to Jeffrey, Emily, Cody, and Richard and their families!