The National Merit® Scholarship Program is an American academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements. Of the 1.6 million entrants, some 50,000 with the highest PSAT/NMSQT® Selection Index scores qualify for recognition in the National Merit® Scholarship Program each year.

Finalists

Some 15,000 students are notified that they have advanced to Finalist standing. High school principals are notified and provided with a certificate to present to each Finalist.

Winner Selection

All winners of Merit Scholarship® awards (Merit Scholar® designees) are chosen from the Finalist group based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments. A variety of information is available for NMSC selectors to evaluate: the Finalist's academic record, information about the school's curricula and grading system, two sets of test scores, the high school official's written recommendation, information about the student's activities and leadership, and the Finalist's own essay.

At YISS, we are proud to announce that Shelley C. and Yoona C. have been recognized as Finalists for this year's National Merit® Scholarship. As the summer begins, we continue to await the results of the recipients of the Scholarship. Shelley will be attending MIT, and Yoona will be attending Carnegie Mellon in the fall. We are extremely proud of both Shelley and Yoona!

*Information adapted from http://www.nationalmerit.org/