SEVEN FAU HIGH STUDENTS NAMED NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS
by KELSIE WEEKES | Wednesday, Oct 04, 2017
Seven Florida Atlantic University High School students have been named semifinalists in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Competition. These high school seniors will now have the opportunity to compete for 7,500 National Merit scholarships worth more than $32 million.
To become a National Merit semifinalist, more than 1.6 million high school juniors took the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). The highest-scoring entrants in each state were named semifinalists, and represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. FAU High School students to earn this distinction include Simon Aronsky, Mikala Davis, Hannah Goldman-Daleo, Crayton Hudspeth, Mohammed Khan, Ryan Scupp and Sydney Yu.
“It is a significant accomplishment for these students to be named semifinalists and enter the process for finalist selection,” said Joel Herbst, Ed.D., assistant dean of PK-12 schools and educational programs at FAU. “This is a tangible outcome of hard work and extra effort from the students, faculty and staff, and we share the pride and sense of accomplishment with their families.”
To become a National Merit finalist, each semifinalist must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes their academic record, extracurricular activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, honors and awards. They also must be endorsed by a high school official, write an essay, and perform well on the SAT. Finalists will be notified in February 2018, and the 2018 National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced next summer.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) is a not-for-profit organization that identifies and honors academically talented U.S. high school students. Since its founding in 1955, NMSC has recognized more than 3 million students and provided more than $1.6 billion in scholarships.
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