Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
Three seniors at Hillsborough High School moved on to the semi-final stage of the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program, moving them into an exclusive group of high performing students throughout the country.
At the Hillsborough Township Board of Education meeting on Sept. 25, district officials touted the capabilities and successes of HHS seniors Iris Liu, Catherine Nguyen and Diana Voronin.
According to Superintendent Dr. Jorden Schiff, this year’s semi-finalists were selected from a large group of potential students because of their achievements in the classroom.
“To be named a National Merits semi-finalist, students must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, submit a written essay and earn SAT scores that confirm their earlier performance on the PSATs,” he said. “Congratulations to Iris, Catherine and Diana.”
Created in 1955 by an independent, not-for-profit organization known as the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the National Merit Scholarship Program is an “academic competition for recognition and scholarships.”
Since its inception in 1955, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation has recognized more than three million students throughout the country and awarded more than 400,000 scholarships worth more than $1.6 billion.
High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Approximately 1.6 million American students in more than 22,000 high schools participate in the test each year.
Of those initial entrants, only the 50,000 top scoring students move on to the next round, either as a commended student or a semi-finalist.
Though a majority of those students will be commended students, which grants them a letter of commendation, just 16,000 will be selected as semi-finalists and allowed to move on in the competition.
Only the highest scoring pupils in each state end up being selected as semi-finalists in order to ensure that “academically talented young people from all parts of the United States are included in this talent pool.”
All semi-finalists must continue performing at a high academic level if they are to advance to the next round. Just 15,000 semi-finalists will continue.
The scholarship program has 2,500 National Merit scholarships, worth $2,500 each, up for grabs. An additional 1,000 corporate-sponsored scholarships and 4,000 college-sponsored awards are also available through the competition.
Finalists will be notified in February and scholarships will be distributed between April and July.
National Merit $2,500 Scholarships: Every finalist competes for these single payment scholarships, which are awarded on a state-representational basis. Winners are selected without consideration of family financial circumstances, college choice or major and career plans.
Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards: Corporate sponsors designate their awards for children of their employees or members, for residents of a community where a company has operations, or for finalists with career plans the sponsor wishes to encourage. These scholarships may either be renewable for four years of undergraduate study or one-time awards.
College-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards: Officials of each sponsor college select winners of their awards from finalists who have been accepted for admission and have informed NMSC by the published deadlines that the sponsor college or university is their first choice. These awards are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.
Even if none of the three Hillsborough students advance to the next round, NMSC officials said semi-finalists have the chance to receive special scholarships outside of those awarded to finalists.
