Three students from Los Alamitos High School qualified for the National Merit Semifinals. They are Danielle Beaudreau, Mark Kim, and Ashley Willingham. Semi-finalists are students who scored in the top 1 percent of students who took the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) nationwide in fall 2014.
According to information provided by the National Merit Scholarship organization, approximately 16,000 of the 1.5 million students who participated in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the PSAT in October 2014 were recognized as National Merit Semifinalists. To become a Finalist, the student must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test (PSAT).
From the initial 16,000 Semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and will be notified in February 2016 of this designation. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skill, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.