By Raci Levine
Executive Features Editor
This year’s Merit Scholar Semifinalists are seniors Benjamin Blum, Andrew Cherry, Karyn Fu, Kyle Fukumoto, Tucker Gauss, Ethan Harrison, Alexander Holcomb, Heather Jensen, Cindy Lin, Dashiell Rumble, Kiran Shah, and Jacob Tan.
The National Merit Scholarship Program awards merit scholarships to students based on their high merit and PSAT/SAT scores and are a tremendous honor, according to Cherry.
“I am incredibly happy and proud of myself, and it feels like all my hard work has paid off,” said Cherry. “A merit scholarship, to me, means that my academic successes are being rewarded.”
These seniors prepared for the test by studying with tutors and taking practice tests. The Merit Scholarship is mainly awarded to students who score above a 1400 on the SAT or a 29 on the ACT. Despite the stress of standardized tests, these students were still able to display their advanced knowledge and test-taking skills.
“My advice for students taking these tests is to study smarter, not harder. Use smart studying techniques like active recall [and] spaced repetition, and take official practice tests,” said Tan. “To study for the test, I used Khan Academy and took the practice tests that they offer there.”
Both the SAT and ACT have four sections, but the SAT has reading, writing, and two math sections, while the ACT has reading, writing, math, and science sections. Most of the Merit scholars this year primarily focused on studying the mathematical portions of the test in order to receive the highest score. According to Cherry, he advises students taking standardized tests to be consistent with their studying in order to guarantee success while test taking.
“For kids taking the SAT and ACT, I recommend doing as many practice tests as possible,” said Cherry. “Additionally, focus on math first. If you understand the concepts, the math sections are free points.”
Merit Scholarship finalists will be selected in January 2023, and the winners will be announced in March 2023 and will receive $2,500. Throughout the United States, there will be about 7,600 students selected to win the Merit Scholarship.
“I haven’t actually won [the Merit Scholarship] yet!” said Tan. “I just submitted my application for it, so we have to wait and see.”
Being a Merit Scholar can boost their application during the college process, showing they have performed above and beyond academically. It is a scholarship that has been given to high achieving students since 1985.
“Being a Merit Scholar is a huge honor,” said Tan. “I’m humbled to be a part of a community with so many incredible and intelligent people.”
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