Eight seniors were recently named National Merit Semifinalists, and 19 seniors were named National Merit Commended Students. These awards and titles are given out annually to the highest scorers on the Preliminary SAT (PSAT).

Seniors Jay Alexander, Andrew Barrett, Stratton Georgoulis, Sidney Hallak, Tammy Ma, Megan Rodrigues, Zachary Stanley and Evan Trout were named National Merit Semifinalists.

Seniors Brennan Case, Betsy Cha, Anna Clark, Joe Detmer, John Freeman, Connor Gould, Priya Jain, Sara Jenab, Austin Klein, Courtney Laird, Thomas Lasnier, Ann McLean, Alec Mitchell, Abhik Nag, Jacqueline Passonno, Katherine Quick, Amani Reheel, Suzanna Stephenson and Brandon Strecker were named National Merit Commended Students.

Senior Stratton Georgoulis, one of BVNW’s eight National Merit Semifinalists, said he is glad that he was named a Semifinalist, but that there are ultimately greater things than just one award in the grand scheme of things.

“[Being named a National Merit Semifinalist] sort of validates the work that I’ve done academically over the 18 years that I’ve been alive,” Georgoulis said. “Overall, I’m happy about it; I’m proud about it. [But], I think that there are ultimately bigger things out there to do than make one high test score.”

According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, only around 50 thousand students out of the 1.5 millions students that take the PSAT each year are named Semifinalists or Commended Students; this means that less than 4 percent of all PSAT takers are recognized with accolades from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Around two-thirds of these 50 thousand students are named National Merit Commended Students. The very top scorers in each state, and less than 2 percent of all PSAT test-takers, are named National Merit Semifinalists. These Semifinalists can go on to compete for National Merit Finalist status and receive various scholarships from companies, schools and the National Merit Corporation.

Senior Joe Detmer said that receiving the status of a National Merit Commended Student felt good because he was receiving recognition for all the work he put in studying for the test. He said for the students who also want to do well on the PSAT, they should be sure to actively seek out available resources.

“Make sure that you’re using all the resources that are available to you because there’s like a ton of practice tests and study tools that are free online,” Detmer said. “There is also a ton of stuff that the school offers as well, so just make sure you’re using it.”