National Merit

We all know how hectic our last two years of high school are, with the constant testing and stressful examines. Imagine all that hard work paying off and resulting in one of the biggest accomplishments a 17 year old could experience. The anticipation of who is going to be named a National Merit finalist every year is what keeps students and their parents on their toes. This year, four lucky students from our very own school felt what it was like to be recognized by one of the most prestigious organizations. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. You can become eligible for this competition by taking the PSAT in your high school. They use the PSAT as a way to determine what students qualify for this competition because this test is consistent among the board. This one test is a fair way to test students knowledge and discover the brightest students found in each district every year. To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, semi finalists must advance to finalist standing by meeting extremely high academic standards. All winners of the Merit Scholarship awards are chosen from the finalist groups based on their abilities, accomplishments and skills. These four extremely talented students were in the top 5% percent for academics based on their PSAT scores and received the commended merit scholar. The names of the students selected for this honor were Jenna Greenberg, Immaan Hussain, Avery Schwartz and David Bromberg. While asking Avery how it felt to in the top 5% based on her academic achievements she said, “ I did not study for the test at all because I wasn’t planning on taking the SAT. I was really surprised and excited because I knew I had done well but I didn’t think it meant anything.” I also had the opportunity to speak to Immaan Hussain who said, “I was so excited when I found out the news that I would have 

the opportunity to get the commended merit scholar.” It is evident in their responses that these students were filled with all sorts of emotions when they received

these results. This is a great accomplishment to achieve in high school and it should inspire kids every year to perform well on the PSAT to have a shot at this amazing opportunity. This is only the beginning of what these talented individuals are going to offer in the future!