For the first time in Winter Springs High school history, six students have qualified for national merit semi-finalist. A national merit semi-finalist is a person who scored in the top one percent on the PSAT in eleventh grade. The PSAT tests students on their reading comprehension ability, their math ability, and their grammar skills. Additionally, the test and award are given by the scholarship. After a student qualifies for the national merit semi-finalist, the student can become a national merit finalist by earning a concordant score on the SAT. To earn the scholarship that comes with being a National Merit Finalist, the student must have a letter of recommendation from a teacher and maintain a gpa of 3.5 or higher. Students who become a National Merit Finalist earn a full ride to any Florida school and also receive 2500 dollars.
Turning to the students who received the prestigious award of becoming a National Merit Semi-Finalist, Shruti Likhite states the following about the award: “I really was shocked when I received the award; I never expected that I would be in the top one percent of high school seniors that took the test.” Shruti Likhite adds to her statement: “One moment I was being lectured by Ms. Heart, and the next moment Mr. Gaffney walks in, welcoming me with balloons and flowers.” One can glean from Shruti Likhite’s statements that she is very humble and is content being a bear at Winter Springs High school. Another National Merit Semi-Finalist was Edward Collins, an IB student, whose favorite subject is math. When asked about how he became a National Merit Semi-Finalist he responded in the following manner: “I really adore math and I’m in the Mu Alpha Theta; when it comes to the English section, I just read a lot of magazines and newspapers.” During the interview, Edwards was very hyper and content to have received the award of National Merit Semi-Finalist.
