Congratulations to the following students who have been announced as National Merit $2,500 Scholarship Winners:
Amy H., Mitali K., and Adit S.!
From approximately 1.6 million students who entered the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program, only about 16,000 were named Semifinalists - 21 of them were BASIS Independent Silicon Valley students.
"We are so proud of these three BASIS Independent Silicon Valley students and this remarkable achievement. It is a reminder to all of us that perseverance and passion can culminate in greatness and recognition." - Mr. Toby Walker, Head of School
The recipients of this award are the Finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.
These Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the Finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.
This year’s National Merit Scholarship Program began in Fall 2018 when over 1.6 million juniors in approximately 22,000 high schools took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors, were named Semifinalists on a state-representational basis. Only these 16,000 Semifinalists had an opportunity to continue in the competition.
From the Semifinalist group, some 15,000 students met the very high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. By the conclusion of the 2020 program, about 7,500 Finalists will have earned the “Merit Scholar” title and received a total of over $31 million in college scholarships.
Congratulations to our Bobcats!
These Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the Finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the Finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.
This year’s National Merit Scholarship Program began in Fall 2018 when over 1.6 million juniors in approximately 22,000 high schools took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than one percent of the nation’s high school seniors, were named Semifinalists on a state-representational basis. Only these 16,000 Semifinalists had an opportunity to continue in the competition.
From the Semifinalist group, some 15,000 students met the very high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. By the conclusion of the 2020 program, about 7,500 Finalists will have earned the “Merit Scholar” title and received a total of over $31 million in college scholarships.
Congratulations to our Bobcats!