In early February, eleven Choate Rosemary Hall sixth formers who had been named Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program were notified that they had advanced to Finalist standing. As a Finalist, each student remains eligible for a Merit Scholarship award.

The long process of selecting the 8,200 Merit Scholarship winners begins a year before the awards are actually given. According to the National Merit Foundation’s website, the process begins when thousands of high school juniors take the PSAT each fall. In order to qualify for consideration, students must be enrolled full time in high school. In addition, they must attend high school with the intention of going to college following graduation.

Of the approximately 1.4 million entrants, the 50,000 or so students with the top Selection Index scores (mathematics critical reading writing skills, the three parts of the exam) are eligible for recognition. In the April following the administration of the test, students with high scores from each state are asked to name two universities or colleges to which they would like to be referred by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. In September, the respective high schools of the high scorers inform them whether they have been selected as either Commended Students, who did well on the test, or Semifinalists, who advance to the next round of the competition.

The NMSC makes the distinction between Commended Students and Semifinalists based upon their Selection Index scores. This cutoff varies from year to year, state to state and even from public school to private school.

Once students have been notified of their position as Semifinalists, they must formally apply for a Merit Scholarship. Included in this application must be proof of endorsement for Finalist standing and a Merit Scholarship by the Semifinalist’s high school principal/headmaster. In addition, the candidate’s complete academic records for all high-school years must be provided. This encompasses courses taken, grades earned, and courses that will be taken in 12th grade. Students are also required to take the SAT to confirm the individual’s performance on the PSAT. Finally, the NMSC asks students to write a 500 word personal essay.

According to the NMSC website, Merit Scholarship winners are chosen “based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments.” Students are assessed “without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.”

Starting in March and continuing through mid-June, 8,200 of the 15,000 finalists across the nation will be notified if they have been chosen as a Merit Scholarship winner. This scholarship comes in three forms. The National Merit Scholarship, $2500, is awarded on a state by state basis. These scholarships are awarded without regard to financial situation, and college or major choice.

Corporate-sponsored scholarships are awarded to the children of employees of many corporations, which sponsor their own scholarships through the NMSC program.

The final type of scholarship, which is college-sponsored, is awarded when a sponsor-college chooses to reward a finalist who has been admitted to the institution. College-sponsored scholarships are also awarded to students who have listed participating colleges as their first-choice school.

As expected, Choate’s finalists were very excited to learn of their selection, but many would like more. Kelsey Cameron ’07 remarked, “It’s pretty exciting. I’ll be more excited if I actually get some money.