Three Santa Fe students are being recognized as National Merit Scholar Corporation (NMSC) Semifinalists. Joseph Hawkins, Ethan Hoang and Daniel Pham are the names behind the excellent PSAT scores vying for a variety of different scholarships included by the program.
Participants are required to follow plans to enroll in full-time college and have high academic achievement through all years of high school. Principals are sent a list of students who qualify for the NMSC and they review their applications.
There are around 16,000 semi-finalists this year alone. These students are subject to win up to $2500 in scholarships. Around 1.5 million students qualify, with an average of 1460 to 1520 on the PSAT/NMSQT. Practicing for these tests is recommended and available starting freshman year.
“I recommend taking it in the years leading up to your junior year, just to get used to the format,” semifinalist Ethan Hoang said.
Even students who do not qualify for National Merit Scholarships may still receive benefits from scoring well on the PSAT including a Letter of Commendation that may yield “Special Scholarships.”
“National Merit is a huge scholarship, it allows me to go where I want to go and have opportunities that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise,” said Hoang.
It is never too early or too late to begin studying for the PSAT. Helpful resources are available through College Board, Khan Academy, Princeton Review and many more.
