National Merit Program Honors 15 YISS Seniors
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 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 each year for recognition in the National Merit® Scholarship Program.
YISS would like to congratulate the following seniors for their recognition by the National Merit® Scholarship Program for the 2023-24 school year.
Commended Students: Claire Cho, Annis Choi, Jaimie Ha, Irene Han, Tiffany Jin, Eugene Kang, Faith Kim, Tyler Paik, Emily Song, Audrey Young
Semifinalists: Kyra Jun, Rachel Kang, Andrew Kim, Chloe Kim, Souhoon Lee
The below descriptions are adapted from www.nationalmerit.org.
Commended Students - About 34,000 of the approximately 50,000 high scorers on the PSAT/NMSQT® receive Letters of Commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise.
Semifinalists - About 16,000 students of the 50,000 high scorers are notified that they have qualified as Semifinalists. Semifinalists advance to Finalist standing in the competition by meeting high academic standards and other requirements.
Finalists - Some 15,000 Semifinalists 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.