Current seniors Bennett Dubois, Alec Harrell, Sarah Russell, Brian Schnoor, and Kai Strubel probably didn’t recognize the golden opportunity they struck last year as juniors. In taking the PSAT along with their 600 classmates and 1.5 million other high schoolers, the five current seniors qualified themselves for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s scholarship program.

What’s a National Merit Scholar?

National Merit Scholars are the 7,600 scholarship winners from across the nation are selected from a finalist pool of 15,000, which is cut down from a semifinalist pool of 16,000. The winners are awarded a scholarship of one of three types: National Merit $2,500 Scholarship awarded by the Corporation; corporate­sponsored Merit Scholarship awards, awards given by sponsoring corporations to employees’ children; and college­sponsored Merit Scholarship awards. College­sponsored awards and corporate­sponsored awards can be renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.

Currently at the semifinalists stage, these NHS students’ SAT scores, as well as other factors for the award, are being processed. Winners are selected from their academic record, their PSAT and SAT scores, a recommendation from a high school official, information about the students’ activities and leadership and essays submitted upon application.

Being a Semifinalist

Through opportunities and experiences such as AP classes, Project Lead the Way, internships, student government, and National Honor Society, Harrell and Strubel have reached their semifinalist title, but they interpret it differently.

“[The] title of semifinalist doesn’t mean anything to me. Finalist is what matters,” Harrell said. Harrell wishes to attend Arizona State for mechanical engineering should he receive the scholarship. If not, he plans to attend Purdue.

“I’m honored,” Strubel said, in contrast. “I hope I’ll be able to make it further in the competition.” Strubel also has engineering hopes, and he wishes to attend Purdue to study computer engineering.

Both students have their eyes on the big prize as they see these potential scholarships as a key to unlocking their future education, career and success. They have reached their current states of achievement through mediums such as AP classes, Project Lead the Way, internships, student government, and National Honor Society.

The Honorable Mentions

Aside from the semifinalists, a number of students are commended for their performance on the PSAT. Students receiving this honor scored within the top 34,000 of PSAT scores. For the class of 2015, 13 students were commended. Taking the PSAT and doing well on it was the only step commended students took to earn their title.

“I think [a commendation] is a good thing to put on my college applications,” Holly Tucker, a 2015 commended student, said. “It looks good­that’s always a plus.”

Coming soon: PSAT 2014

Come October 29, all sophomores and many juniors will take the PSAT. December will bring their results, making apparent the potential National Merit Scholars of 2016 and 2017. For the vast majority of students, this test may have little to no impact. But for a few top students, the PSAT can open doors, ushering in possibilities for a successful future.