Last Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, Homestead juniors took the Preliminary SAT/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Although some students viewed it as an additional standardized test, students who score highly have the potential to receive a large benefit. 

“The PSAT is a really great opportunity, and many kids just think its another test, but there are a lot of scholarships for people who do well. Some schools give a full ride for being a finalist so it’s important people know what the test is,” Jackson Rusch, senior and National Merit Semifinalist, explained.

In fall of 2018, 1.5 million juniors across the nation took the 2018 PSAT/NMSQT, and among those students, the top 1% of participants from each state were named to be National Merit Semifinalists.

Amid the select group of 16,000 seniors nationwide, 12 semifinalists were chosen from Homestead. Shubhan Mathur, Christopher Panagis, Jackson Rusch, Konnor Raskin, Isabel Klemmer, Zidao Wang, Erin Wei, Megan Carley, Joshua Gottlieb, Andrew Wang, Jacob Yasonik, and Michael Pokorny all qualified to be part of the National Merit Scholarship Program.

“It’s a really nice recognition after all the years of hard work in school. It shows that it paid off,” Carley said. 

As a member of the National Merit Scholarship Program, the semifinalists have the opportunity to compete in the National Merit Scholarship Competition (NMSC) to be a National Merit Finalist. 

“To be a finalist, you need to fill out an application that’s similar to a college application. Also, you have to write an essay about the prompt they give you, get counselor recommendation letters, and then consent form from your parents. Then, you wait until April to hear back from National Merit to be a finalist or get scholarships,” Wei explained.

Of these semifinalists, 7,600 students earn the chance to receive three types of scholarships: National Merit $2500 Scholarships, Corporate-sponsored scholarships, or College-sponsored scholarships. These scholarships are worth more than $31 million dollars.

“The main benefit [of being a semifinalist] is that it provides more opportunities in college. Mainly it helps to get in, but also with scholarships, and having less debt coming out of college,” Rusch said.

Although becoming a finalist is a special honor, the semifinalists are busy filling out college applications and finishing their senior year strong.

“Being a finalist will open a lot of doors; there’s a lot of scholarships available and that’s somewhat reassuring given how much college will cost. However, the results come in such a long time that I’ve tried to stop thinking about them. I’m more nervous for college applications as of now,” Yasonik said.