Special to the
Opelika Observer
Lee-Scott Academy seniors Mary Kathryn Lamb and Jack Terry have been recognized for their outstanding achievement on the PSAT exam and have been named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists.
Over 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of the program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing fewer than 1% of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
To become a finalist, the semifinalist and his or her high school must submit a detailed scholarship application in which they provide information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors and awards received. A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on a qualifying test.
From approximately 16,000 semifinalists, approximately 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level, and in February, they will be notified of this designation.