Everyone who has taken the PSAT has probably heard about the National Merit Scholarship Program. This program is an academic competition that can allow you to receive scholarships based on your score. High School students can start their eligibility by first taking the Preliminary SAT (PSAT)/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT). To add, the three main requirements for entering are pretty simple. The main requirements include: Take the PSAT/NMSQT when you are in high school grades 9 through 12; Be enrolled as a high school student (traditional or homeschooled); Be a US citizen, lawful permanent resident, or planning to become a citizen as soon as possible.
There are more things such as specific questions you will need to answer, your answers will help you qualify. Then, things progress from this point on.
This program has around 50,000 entrants, and those with the highest scores qualify for recognition and the National Merit Scholarship Program. Then students, from there, will be notified on whether they qualify as a commended student or as a semifinalist.
Only about 16,000 students of the 50,000 high scorers qualify as Semifinalists and are chosen to represent the state they live in. Then in February, about 15,000 Semifinalists advance to Finalists. In the end, about 7,500 finalists will be selected to receive a Merit Scholarship in between the beginning the March and mid-June. In conclusion, it’s very obvious that achieving finalist stance is extremely difficult, and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Which makes it even more special to announce that one of our very own Lincoln High School students has been selected as a semi-finalist!
Aubrey Cumberledge, a senior this year, has been selected as a semi-finalist for the National Merit Scholarship Program. Cumberledge shared that she wants to become a cellular biologist after college, hopefully doing different types of research. She is looking at Johns Hopkins University or George Washington University for her undergraduate and doctoral studies.
“Honestly, I’m really shocked that I’m a National Merit Semifinalist. It seemed like such an impossible thing to do, so I’m pretty proud of myself and extremely honored.” Aubrey shared with us. Aubrey is a very intelligent young woman, with a bright future ahead of her, and Lincoln High School couldn’t be more proud to have such a wonderful student.
When asked for some advice for future students planning to work towards the program, Aubrey shared some encouragement. “I’d tell juniors (and even sophomores taking the practice test) that they should go into the test confident in their abilities. The test can’t hurt you, so just do your best and see what happens. You may surprise yourself and be a Semifinalist, but even if you aren’t, you still get SAT practice. Even if you don’t think you’ll do well, I’d recommend taking the PSAT. You never know what will happen.” She says, encouraging everyone to at least make an attempt to take the test. Everyone at Lincoln is extremely proud of Aubrey and all of her achievements. Congratulations!