On Sept. 13, 20 students from AHS were announced to have qualified as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists: seniors Ethan Chen, Justin Chen, Liang-Wei Chen, Sean Chen, Conner Ching, Andrea Fang, Nicholas Figueira, Xinyang Gu, Daniel Ho, Frank Lee, Derek Li, James Shin, Arianna Togelang, Regina Wang, Elyse Yao, Benjamin Yeh, Xiaoke Ying, Warren Yuan, Edward Zeng, and Louis Zhao. These seniors are part of 16,000 students chosen out of more than 22,000 high schools across the nation and represent around 1% of the entire country’s student population of 1.6 million people. Out of these seniors, around 15,000 of them will make it as finalists in February 2018 and receive the title of National Merit Scholar, as well as compete for around 7,500 National Merit Scholarships collectively worth $32 million.

In order to become eligible to join the program, students need to take the PSAT/NMSQT during their junior year of high school, be in high school and enroll in college full time by the fall of their high school graduation, and be a permanent U.S. resident or U.S. citizen. Then, they must rank in the top 3% of all test-takers to be considered for National Merit Scholar.

Meeting these high standards isn’t easy for any of the participants, and each of their outlooks are different. “I was surprised I got semifinalist. The only thing I had to do was take the PSAT, so it was as hard as just taking a standardized test,” said Regina. “There wasn’t much stress [for me] regarding the PSAT, since it was just one test. I took the actual SATs before the PSATs, so I was already done with the SAT.” However, Derek had a different approach, expressing that he is honored to continue this process of hard work in becoming a National Merit Scholar. He advised, “I think the best way to deal with the stress of SATs and PSATs is to be prepared. It helps to take many practice tests, familiarize yourself with test material, and plan accordingly so you know where you stand by the time the test rolls around…The College Board had an online review of my sophomore test that used to study the topics missed.”

While some schools have only a few students make it this far into the program, AHS has had over 100 National Merit Semifinalists over the past five years, with more than 90% of its seniors advancing as finalists. The seniors who have made it thus far have set an example for all of the students at AHS. Good luck, fellow Apaches, and best wishes to you all!

Photo courtesy of AHS.AUSD.NET