6 MHS Students Named Finalists in National Merit Scholarship Program

Six MHS students, Brian Drumm, Michael Drumm, Laura Forte, Katherine Hayman, Henry Pratt and Sarah Smith were named as finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program, it was announced last Friday.

About 90 percent of the Semifinalists attained Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit ScholarÆ 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 450 business organizations and higher education institutions that share nmscís goals of honoring the nationís scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.

Steps in the Competition: About 1.5 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools entered the 2011 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2009 Preliminary sat/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (psat/nmsqtÆ), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the stateís percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.To become a Finalist, a Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high school principal, and earn sat scores that confirm the studentís earlier performance on the qualifying test.

The Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes the studentís essay and information about the Semifinalistís participation and leadership in school and community activities.Approximately 15,000 Semifinalists advanced to the Finalist level and it is from this group that all National Merit Scholarship winners will be chosen. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.