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 (PSAT/NMSQT®) which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.6 million entrants each year and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements.
In February, some 15,000 Semifinalists are notified by mail at their home addresses that they have advanced to Finalist standing. High school principals are notified and provided with a certificate to present to each Finalist.
All winners of Merit Scholarship® awards (Merit Scholar® designees) are chosen from the Finalist group based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference. A variety of information is available for NMSC selectors to evaluate: the Finalist’s academic record, information about the school’s curricula and grading system, two sets of test scores, the high school official’s written recommendation, information about the student’s activities and leadership, and the Finalist’s own essay.
Thirteen (13) MLWGS National Merit Scholarship Finalists were recognized by their home district representative at the March 21st meeting of the Regional School Board and presented a certificate in recognition for this accomplishment:
Chesterfield Richmond Henrico
Lawrence Jia Ivan Marshall Derek Chen
Narmeen Rashid Emily Dai
Kamya Sanjay Everett Llewellyn
Grady Trexler Som Mohapatra
Alexander Nikolov
Lisa Qin
John Strader
Yashodhara Varma
