St. Andrew's Honors Five National Merit Semifinalists

The Upper School recognized five members of the Class of 2019 as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists in chapel on September 13. Congratulations to (left to right) Carson Kurad, Adrian Almy, Mikayla Hyde and Alex Swearingen! Not pictured is Andrew Hojel, who has already matriculated to college. 
Last October approximately 1.6 million juniors took the PSAT which serves as the initial screening for the National Merit Scholarship program. From that pool, approximately 16,000 students achieved a score high enough to place them in the semifinalist category. This group represents less than 1 percent of each state’s high school seniors.

From this point, the semifinalists will complete a scholarship application which will be reviewed to see if they will progress to the finalist stage of the National Merit competition.  The application consists of their academic record, endorsements from St. Andrew’s, a personal essay, and information about their participation and leadership in school and community activities.  Once students move to the finalist level, Merit Scholarship winners are chosen based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in college studies.
 
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