Merit Scholarships

Poly seniors Priya Kumar and Kevin Chau have been selected as semifinalists in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship program.
The National Merit Scholarship program provides recognition and scholarships to qualified students who scored highly on the PSAT/NMSQT. Divided into Critical Reading, Math, and Writing, the PSAT/NMSQT gauges students’ knowledge of these three sections and serves as a precursor to the SAT, exposing test takers to the substantial amount of questions and extreme time constraints most associated with the standardized test.
All high school juniors who take the PSAT are automatically entered into the National Merit Scholarship Program. The initial pool of students consists of 1.5 million entrants, which is then narrowed down to the top 50,000 scorers who are recognized by the program for their achievements. From that point, the field is reduced to 34,000 students, all of whom are named Commended Students.
Kumar and Chau are part of the 16,000 students nationwide who qualify as National Merit Scholar semifinalists. They are eligible to apply to be one of 15,000 finalists, and if selected, can vie for the 8,000 scholarships available to National Merit Scholar finalists. According to PACE counselor Connie Loggins, attaining the coveted National Merit Scholar finalist status not only entails national recognition and scholarships, but also opens up the door to other benefits.
“Being a Merit Scholar is recognized nationwide, but its rewards vary from college to college. It definitely gives you a boost in the admissions process. Some colleges even provide additional scholarships,” said Loggins.
Studying for the PSAT/NMSQT can take on many forms. Some students prefer to self-study, while others take SAT workshops as preparation for the test.
When asked how they prepared for the PSAT, Kumar said, “I went to one of the SAT workshops, and I brought my calculator,” to which Chau replied, “I have a nicer one. I also did an SAT prep thing, but it didn’t really help.”
Kumar and Chau are currently in the PACE program. Kumar plans to major in chemical engineering while Chau hopes to become a literature or philosophy major.
In addition to Kumar and Chau, Poly seniors Theresa Becich, Eric Brunner, Rachel Ogata, Lucia Procopio, Ryan Riehl, Samantha Singal, Isabel Wagner, Madeleine Wamsley, Vanessa Wilder, and Aida Ylanan were recognized as Commended Students.