Fifteen McNeil students earned National Merit Semifinalist qualifying scores from the 2016 October PSAT. “National Merit Semifinalist status is something to be proud of because it is a high-value recognition by a respectable organization,” senior Vinh Ton said. “It is also a gift to my family because my parents can be equally proud of me.”

This year, the cutoff for the semifinalists was a NMSQT score of 221, a rise from last year’s 220. National Merit semifinalists comprise the top 1 percent of the 1.6 million students who took the PSAT.

“Being a semifinalist means that I’m smarter than I think I am,” senior Sarah Lee said. “I think preparing months in advance helped me qualify.”

Like the SAT, the PSAT evaluates students’ basic critical reading, writing, and math skills. National Merit Semifinalists have the opportunity to qualify as National Merit Finalists and receive scholarships from numerous universities.

“I hope that National Merit will be a valuable endorsement for university applications and will help pave the way for further financial aid,” Ton said. “My teachers provided me with a strong educational foundation to do well on the test.”

The following students are National Merit semifinalists:

Jaden Fang, Bela Gadgil, Ethan Golla, Vignesh Krishnamurthy, Sarah Lee, Gilbert Lehman, Arka Majumdar, Franklin Mao, Anthony Nguyen, Anjana Ramachandra, Cameron Schnurer, Evie Shaw, Sumin Son, Emma Tkacz, and Vinh Ton.