Seniors Aditya Katewa and Tyler Colenbrander advanced as semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
In 2017, 1.6 million students across the United States took the PSAT. Of that, 16,000 students received a high enough score to enter into the National Merit Scholarship Program. Since 1955, the program has been a widely-known academic competition with a prize of $2,500 per year of college. To participate in the contest, one has to live and attend high school in the United States and be on track to graduate and attend college.
The PSAT determines if students are eligible to compete for the scholarship based on the scores they recieve. Once students qualify based on their scores, they begin their active application process. This includes writing an essay along with an online application similar to a college application.
“Try your hardest and take the test seriously,” Katewa said when asked to give advice to juniors who will be taking the PSAT. “It’s a practice test and it’s one that we take our junior year, so a lot of people don’t take it very seriously, but it’s something that could really help you out in the long run.”
Four other seniors, including Cole Fehring, Liz King, Collin Tarleton, and Aaron Simon, were Commended National Merit Scholars.
