Masuk Students Excel in National Merit Scholarship Program

The National Merit® Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test–a test which serves as an initial screen of more than 1.5 million entrants each year–and by meeting published program entry/participation requirements.

About 34,000 students across the country have been named commended students and are recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Commended students are named on the basis of a nationally applied selection index score. They placed among the top 5 percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2011 competition by taking the 2010 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

The National Merit Scholar Commended Students from Masuk for 2011 are seniors Ryan Beauchamp, Julie Dragonetti, Jessica Galvez, Caroline Hron Weigle, Charles Hron Weigle, and Thomas Kinard.

Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists are part of the nationwide semifinalist pool, which represents less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors and includes the highest-scoring entrants from each state. The final scholarship winners will be chosen from a group of more than 15,000 finalists. Merit Scholars are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Each of these seniors is vying for one of the 8,400 National Merit Scholarship awards available.

The Merit Scholar Semi-Finalists from Masuk High School for 2011 are:  Cullen Burling, Benjamin Call, and Helen Cumberbatch.