By Kayla Samimi
Executive News Editor
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation selected seven Mira Costa seniors on Sept. 14 as 2016 semifinalists after each took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in October of 2015.
Approximately 1.5 million high school students in the United States take the PSAT/NMSQT each year and around 16,000 students from all 50 states then advance to become semifinalists based on their test scores. The semifinalists from Costa this year were Melia Chittenden, Darby Dayton, Elisse Friedman, Barbara Garrison, Kylie Hefner, Matthew Kennedy and Emma Parsons.
“I was really proud of myself and the other people who received the semifinalist standing,” Friedman said. “Because National Merit is valuable to universities, I know it really strengthens my college applications.”
These semifinalists make up approximately 1% of the country’s high school seniors. Each semifinalist is eligible to apply for scholarships from local organizations and businesses that sponsor the National Merit Scholarship Program.
“Less than 1% of high school seniors reach the semifinalist level so that’s pretty cool,” Dayton said. “I feel relieved because I might be able to afford to go to USC now.”
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