Congratulations to Sarah Angle, Thomas Keane and Daniel Kim!

February 8, 2012 – Three Warwick Valley High School students, Sarah N. Angle, Thomas P. Keane and Daniel Y. Kim, are among the group of more than 15,000 Finalists in the 57th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,400 National Merit Scholarships that will be offered next spring.

Steps in the Competition

About 1.5 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools entered the 2012 National Merit
Scholarship Program by taking the 2010 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test PSATNMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

To become a Finalist, a Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. The Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes the student’s essay and information about the Semifinalist’s participation and leadership in school and community activities.

Approximately 15,000 Semifinalists advance to the Finalist level and it is from this group that all National Merit Scholarship winners will be chosen. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.

National Merit Scholarships

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2012. Every Finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state representational basis. About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 250 corporations and business organizations for Finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located. In addition, about 200 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,900 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.