As Jesuit seniors start their college admissions process, nine out of approximately two hundred and sixty students in that class can call themselves National Merit Scholar Semifinalists. These semifinalists are Marshall Baird, Caleb Blais, Michael Case, Chandler Clark, Richard “Dominic” Iannelli, Michael Lanham, Matthew R. Miller, Zachary Shutze, and last but not least, Jacob Su.
To become a National Merit Scholar Finalist, you need to make your state’s qualifying score; in Texas, the qualifying score for the graduating high school in the class of 2015 is a 218 out of a 240 on your NMSQT/PSAT. Texas has the eighth highest cutoff score in the nation, meaning it is more difficult to become a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist here than in most other states.
Mr Oglesby, the head of Jesuit college counseling, says “there are 8,900 scholarships offered each year to the National Merit recognized students across the U.S. 16,000 juniors are represented out of the 1.4 million juniors who took the PSAT test.” He goes on by saying that there are three different types of scholarships offered including corporate awards, National Marit awards, and college sponsored awards.
In the eyes of colleges, Mr Oglesby says, “Well [for] 240 of the 3,500 colleges in the U.S., it means they will offer you a scholarship and to the others, it means you did very well on the PSAT and you’re probably a great student.” Being a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist is a very big deal, Jesuit usually averages around 5-12 scholars but this year, we had 9.
Seriously looking at the University of Oklahoma, the University of Alabama, and the University of Mississippi, Chandler Clark found out that taking the PSAT and going to Karen Dillard’s College Prep helped him the most on the his entrance exams. Feeling familiarized with the test, Chandler felt very confident going in. Chandler says, “Being a National Merit Scholar is obviously a big deal to me. It definitely serves as a great resume builder and opens the door to large amounts of scholarship money.” Chandler also made a perfect 36 on his ACT.
Dominic Iannelli, a very well rounded student that worked hard preparing for the SAT, took SAT classes at Karen Dillard’s College Prep, a very popular testing center for high school students in the Dallas area. Dominic is excited to be a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist, saying that this “opens up tons of opportunities for me.” He continues on by saying, “Hopefully, I will be able to advance to the next level of finalist, because many schools offer great scholarships to finalists. I also think that it will definitely add to my application credentials for universities that don’t offer such scholarships.”
Michael Lanham, who was very excited to receive this award, is looking at the University of Texas, Rice, and Stanford which are all very prestigious schools. He said, “My brother was only one or two points below the semi-finalist cut-off two years ago, so my mom insisted that I attend two one-hour sessions a month or so before the PSAT.” Using what he had learned during his practice sessions, Michael scored an impressive 230 on his test, which was better than he anticipated. He says that “being a National Merit Scholar is awesome but I have a lot of people to thank for it. I definitely could not have done so well without the help of my teachers and parents.” Being very humble in receiving this award, Michael mentions that he is most proud that he is able to represent Jesuit and help improve the school’s reputation.
Matthew Miller, another very intelligent Jesuit senior, is looking at many different great colleges including UTD, MIT, and Duke University. Impressively, Matthew did not take any SAT-Prep classes. He said, “I did some self-study with materials that I found online.” Being gracious, he also said, “I’m very thankful for this recognition of both my effort and the effort of those who have helped me along the way.” He is also very excited for the many different opportunities that he can pursue given this award.
Zachary Shutze, a hard working senior, is looking at the University of Chicago, Villanova, and Baylor University. Impressively, Zachary did not take any SAT prep classes, which didn’t seem to affect him. Zachary, very proud of his award, says, “Being a National Merit Scholar means that a lot of doors have been opened for me, so I plan to pursue the available opportunities and scholarships to make my college education a fantastic experience.” Zachary goes on by saying, “this award is something that reflects who I am as a student and perfectly captures my love for learning and passion for a wonderful education…”
Jacob Su, who attended only one day of PSAT class, is looking at the University of Oklahoma, Trinity, and Washington University in St. Louis. Shockingly, Jacob says, “It doesn’t mean much. It’s just a test score. A lot of kids I know who are smarter than me got worse scores on it. But I am happy about the amount of opportunities and scholarships it opens up.”
The next step for these semifinalists is to work towards becoming finalists. Although becoming a semifinalists is based strictly on test scores, to become a finalist, your PSAT and SAT scores must be very similar, your grades have to be excellent, and the essay students submit must be well done. Even if these students are not eligible to become a National Merit Scholar finalist, their accomplishments deserve much respect and admiration. Working very hard, these students deserve this award and will always remember it.
