Four Lamar CISD students are National Merit Finalists

Four Lamar CISD students are among only 15,000 high school seniors in the United States who have been selected as National Merit Finalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) for their high academic performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

Foster High's Stephanie Tsai and Michael Duncan and Conor Danaher and Nicholas Harvey at Lamar are now in the running to earn National Merit Scholarships.

The selection process for becoming a National Merit Scholarship winner involves a competitive selection from the finalist group process, which involves evaluating a substantial amount of information obtained from the students and their high schools. Finalists are evaluated according to their academic record (course load and difficulty level, depth and breadth of subjects studied, and grades earned), standardized test scores, a student essay, contributions to school and community, and the school official's written recommendation with a distinct characterization of the student's activities and demonstrated leadership.

Additionally, to qualify as a finalist students must be enrolled in their last year of high school and planning to enroll full time in college the following fall or be enrolled in the first year of college if grades nine through twelve were completed in three years or less.

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)-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.

Photo: LCHS Merit Finalists: Conor Danaher and Nicholas Harvey Foster High Merit Finalists Michael Duncan and Stephanie Tsai.