Shorecrest Semifinalists Advance in National Merit Competition
Source/Author: Rachel Barrett, Director of Marketing and Communications
March 01, 2019
Shorecrest seniors RJ Ayers, Will Hess and Aidan Samuelson have been named National Merit Finalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. All three students were named National Merit Semifinalists and have advanced to the next round of competition.
About 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (psat/nmsqt®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of 16,000 Semifinalists, representing 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 state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and his or her high school must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
Approximately 7,500 National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of 15,000 Finalists. 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.
In addition to the 3 National Merit Finalists, the Shorecrest Class of 2019 includes four National Merit Commended Students: Benjamin Berner, Jake Freedman, William Newton and Jordan Tralins.
